KEY
MESSAGE
Reconciling the abovementioned points, complementary approaches are necessary
to start the Philippines on a path that is consistent with sustainable development and the country’s strategic priorities.
Develop clear energy policies consistent with the mandates set out in the Philippines’ constitution, energy laws, and international commitments.
There is a serious need to transition energy policy away from technology neutrality and an unrestrained free market approach to a more strategic approach where the Philippines is clear about its priorities as a growing economy. This requires recognizing and addressing competing values like energy supply issues and price issues, possible alternatives to coal that can supply the baseload, address environmental, health and social impacts of coal, as well as meet climate change commitments.
It is also critical that authoritative studies are launched to aid policy development. These include among others 1) a review of the Philippine Energy Planning process; 2) identifying an optimal energy mix for the Philippines to guide baseload determination and assess the viability of energy technologies, including renewable energy, against updated growth scenarios of the country; 3) conducting a full cost accounting of energy technology options; and 4) assessing the competitiveness of energy technology options.
Cap the role of coal-fired power plants in our energy mix to a desired level, taking into account the projected baseload requirement by 2030, while actively seeking and developing alternatives.
It is urgent that energy resource planning in the Philippines levels the playing field and properly accounts for the role coal should play for the country’s sustainable development, but in a manner that fully factors its impacts and allows other energy sources to compete and innovate for space in the mid-merit, peaking, and the baseload energy fields. Nonetheless, new and emergent technologies like those mentioned in this study should be utilized for potential projects, and close alternatives to coal as a baseload solution should be actively explored and supported. This is particularly the case for natural gas, which to date, is the closest alternative the country has towards supplying the baseload. Ultimately, a serious dialogue now needs to take place to understand, anticipate, and leverage the implications of capping coal-fired power plants to the baseload and positioning other energy sources for mid-merit and peaking demand.
A gold standard should be used for approving and disapproving proposed coal-fired power plants.
There is no more doubt that coal-fired power plants result in several negative environmental, health and social issues. Moving forward, a gold standard of harnessing more efficient, new and emergent coal technologies should be adopted by industry and shepherded by government as a means to approve or disapprove coal projects. Government should conduct a comprehensive review of relevant environmental rules and regulations, and address policy and implementation gaps hand-in-hand with stakeholders and the private sector. At all times, indigenous communities should always be given free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and communities must be meaningfully consulted on all issues that affect them and those issues must be effectively and adequately addressed. This being said, a life cycle assessment of the whole coal value chain, including a social-cost benefit analysis and scientific research to validate claims of the health and social impacts of coal-fired power plants, should be led by government and its partners to inform policy making and the execution of this gold standard.
Finally, the offer of the Philippines to reduce by 2030 70% of its greenhouse gas emissions relative to its business-as-usual scenario of 2000-2030 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), provides an opportunity for the country to completely transform its energy system.
As an ambitious policy declaration that we made contingent on the availability of support under the UNFCCC, the Philippines government is compelled to identify opportunities reduce its greenhouse gas emissions from various sources. We can use this to leverage the availability of climate financing, technology transfer, and capacity building to support alternatives to coal-fired power plants, as well as implement the recommendations stated in this brief.