PH President’s massive push may kickstart transition from coal to renewable energy

Dumagat forest rangers stand beside a solar micro-grid in Norzagaray, Bulacan, northern Philippines on 26 June 2018. Image: Alanah Torralba Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to fast-track transition to renewable energy from coal use is a welcome move for most civil society groups and the national government as it has an important implication for the country’s climate future, and for the global effort to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius climate goal. The Climate Change Commission (CCC) said the policy pronouncement of the President to advance rapidly renewable energy deployment and reduce the country’s dependence on coal for energy generation, a strategy aligned with achieving the goal of the Paris Agreement on climate change which the Philippine government ratified in March 2017. “We recognise the urgent need to ensure the sustainability and availability of resources and the development of alternative ones. In this regard, I trust that Secretary (Alfonso) Cusi (Department of Energy) shall fast-track the development of renewable energy sources and to reduce dependence on traditional energy sources such as coal,” President Duterte said in his Fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA). The president’s SONA pronouncement on coal energy clearly conveys that the country is not only taking […]

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