Eco-Business

The Philippines has lined up tens of gigawatts of offshore wind projects on in service contracts, is preparing to auction 3,300 megawatts more, and already has 178 megawatts in early development – strong signs of growing interest. How much of this will actually get built, however, is uncertain amid social implications, high costs, geopolitical tensions, and the unclear role of Chinese players.

From the Philippines to Peru a vital industry already reeling from multiple problems faces devastation from skyrocketing fuel prices and super-charged Pacific warming.

The Pan‑Asia Power Grid Initiative (PAGI) is designed to stitch together existing blocs, like the Asean Power Grid and South Asian grid projects. But civil society groups warn that the bank’s grand regional vision sits uneasily with its continued backing for fossil fuels.

Major insurers from the region, including MS&AD, SOMPO, and Tokio Marine still back liquefied natural gas projects in the global epicentre of marine biodiversity, despite mounting risks to coastal communities and the clean energy transition, warned campaigners on World Oceans Day.

By Anggita Raissa

By Hannah Alcoseba Fernandez

By Judy Ann Egay

By Hannah Alcoseba Fernandez

All Philippines News →

The vast minority of middle-income countries graduate to high-income status. Past strategies that prioritised physical capital must give way to a quality of growth approach premised on investment in human and natural capital. By Vinod Thomas

The 48th Asean Summit in Cebu closed last week vowing “just” energy transition yet fossil fuel dependence and “green extractivism” deepen inequalities. By Aryanto Nugroho and Angela Asuncion

Asean should enhance efficiency of fertiliser application, increase local fertiliser production, and fortify policies on pesticides and seeds. By Paul Teng

Will scaling biofuels in Southeast Asia make the region more resilient to oil shocks, or does it introduce new vulnerabilities? Structural risks must be addressed as biofuels take a larger share of the transport fuel mix. By Dr Tharinya Supasa, Monika Merdekawati and Zahrah Zafira

By Jose Ma. Luis Montesclaros, Kayven Tan and Mely Caballero-Anthony

By Matthew Powell

By David Lam

By Matthew Carpio and Ivan Galura

All Philippines Opinion →

The action comes despite the oil giant suing the environmental group for US$2.1 million after demonstrators boarded the company’s vessel at the Atlantic Ocean in January.

The veteran journalist talks to Eco-Business about how his Emmy-nominated documentary depicts the lives of environmental crusaders in Asia's deadliest country for guardians of the seas and forests.

Video footage appears to show protestors, who were demonstrating against mining operations, being dragged away by police near Ipilan Nickel Mine in Brooke’s Point, Palawan. Mining insiders are calling for maximum tolerance in similar standoffs.

A coalition of scientists and environmentalists found “widespread economic impacts” for communities in the Philippine province, heightening calls for accountability from the sunken tanker reportedly chartered by a San Miguel Corp subsidiary.

All Philippines Videos →

Amid back‑to‑back trash slides and a landfill fire in one of Southeast Asia’s leakiest waste systems, Philippine environment undersecretary Jonas Leones touts new science‑based safeguards for a waste‑to‑energy buildout in the country.

EB Studio Critical to the country’s energy security in the 1970s, geothermal is now re-emerging as the Philippines’ biggest clean energy advantage at a time when countries are seeking reliable, round-the-clock renewable power, says Francis Giles B. Puno, president and chief operating officer of First Gen Corporation.

Government must call on development finance institutions to tap on risk management tools to make the capital-intensive technology more investible, Global Wind Energy Council’s Ann Margret Francisco tells the EB Podcast.

A small-scale miner in Bicol, Philippines

Critical minerals will be central to this year’s Asean meetings, said environment assistant secretary Noralene Uy, as the Philippines ushers the region towards domestic processing as summit chair.

All Philippines Podcasts →