On August 23, 2023, the
Department of Energy
(DOE) released a draft
circular titled “Policy
Framework on Natural Gas Power Generation in Luzon Main
Grid for Energy Transition.” The Philippine
Movement for Climate
Justice (PMCJ) opposes
this framework, advocating for renewable
energy over liquefied
natural gas (LNG)/fossil gas due to its negative environmental and
health impacts.
In his second State
of the Nation Address,
President Bongbong
Marcos, Jr. emphasized
the importance of renewable energy, targeting 35% by 2030
and 50% by 2040.
However, the policy
framework contradicts
this, favoring fossil
gas and risking both
the climate and public
health.
These targets, further, undermine the
country’s commitment
to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C,
especially considering
the current 1.1C level.
The Philippines, already vulnerable to climate change, will face
intensified heat-related issues, droughts,
and storms which. In
2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in
its Assessment Review
6 (AR6) stresses the
peak of fossil fuel use
by 2025.
Moreover, The Department of Health
(DOH) warned against
the negative health
effects of prolonged
exposure to LNG/fossil gas. In September
2022, the DOH announced their support
for the call of the World
Health Organization
(WHO) to create a national action plan for
the phaseout of fossil
fuels, including LNG.
Batangas, with 5
of 6 active LNG power
plants, illustrates these
ill effects through the
alarming increase in
respiratory and cardiovascular diseases
in five barangays alone
from 2017-2021. Residents even filed a petition last January for
health impact investigations and recently,
PMCJ issued a sign-on
statement for a public
health emergency petition.
According to the
DOE list of RE awarded projects as of June
2023, the Philippines
could harness 113,309
MW of renewable energy potential, offering
cleaner and affordable power, protecting
against pollution and
climate risks. PMCJ
calls on the DOE to
prioritize revising the
framework and pursuing a just transition
to renewable energy,
focusing on people’s
well-being, the needed
climate action to stabilize global temperature
over corporate interests in dirty energy.
DOE’s policy
framework puts the
lives of the Filipinos
at risk by promoting
LNG/fossil gas as a
power source. How
is this move aligned
with DOE’s vision of
“powering up Filipino
communities through
clean, efficient, robust
and sustainable energy
systems”?
DOE must revise
its framework and plan
a just transition to renewable energy. Prioritize the welfare of
the people before the
interests of corporations that continue to
invest in dirty energy. A
planned and managed
phaseout of fossil fuels
will not only ensure the
achievement of sustainable development
goals but has co-benefits on environment,
health and resilient
future.