By 2040, the Philippines would have lessened its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% if the draft text of the country’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) — one of the central modules of the Paris climate deal — is implemented to the letter. Based on the draft text, only 2% or 185.56 million metric tons (MT) of expected carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will be gashed “unconditionally,” but the larger share of this assurance, or some 2.48 billion MT of emissions, would greatly depend on financial aid and resources from the international community.This development jibes with the country’s push for enticing more ‘green’ energy investments, as Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III disclosed during the 7th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum held from October 19 to November 12 this year. Dominguez said in that forum that the country “aims to bounce back from the pandemic-induced recession, while fighting climate risks and enhancing disaster resilience.”“Like most countries,” according to Dominguez, “we are also in the midst of a great battle against Covid-19.
The pandemic has forced us to rethink our ways of economic life, which makes this an opportune moment to intensify our action on the climate crisis.” He added that the Philippines was “turning the contagion into an opportunity to begin building sustainable and safer cities … “[and] aim to shift our investments to clean energy resources and green technologies.”The latest records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reveal that the destruction done by natural disasters and extreme events cost the country some P463 billion from 2010 to 2019. Hardest hit were the agriculture, infrastructure and communications sectors.The finance chief noted that “unlike Covid-19, for which a vaccine will likely be [rolled out] soon, there is no quick solution for the climate crisis.”I couldn’t agree more. But as they say, talk is cheap. While Dominguez hammers on the need for the country to be hospitable to clean energy investors, government agencies tasked to make this work seem to be taking a few steps back.
This column has chronicled the roadblocks Australia-based Energy World Corp. (EWC) has been hurdling to get its Pagbilao Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Quezon Province into full production. The project is 90% complete. It is lock and loaded to contribute to the country’s energy needs. But why is it that the project seems to be in limbo?Here’s the main problem: EWC couldn’t piggyback on the existing transmission facilities, and its request to the Department of Energy (DOE) to assist it in convincing transmission firms to allow it seems to be falling on deaf ears.Despite the difficulties the company has faced through the years, it has remained committed to its investment in the country. It is in the mid-stages of building its own transmission facilities and, were it not for the pandemic, EWC could have been in full production by next year.LNG is clean energy. While Dominguez talks about the country’s desire to go ‘green,’ energy and climate think tank Center for Energy, Ecology and Development, however, has questioned the persistent inclusion of coal in the country’s energy mix. As Gerry Arances, the center’s executive director, points out, “Without phaseout plans for coal, we are bound to repeat carbon-intensive mistakes of the past.”
Meanwhile, despite constraints on site works exacerbated by the pandemic, EWC is putting up $32 million or about P1.5 billion more into its ongoing LNG gas terminal and power plant complex. According to the Australian firm’s preliminary annual report, it spent $27.1 million related to the construction of and financing for its Pagbilao gas-fed power plant, as well as $4.9 million for the adjacent LNG Hub.I can just imagine the frustration EWC has been experiencing with Philippine regulators. Its LNG hub and anchor power complex, which were originally set to go online in 2017, have now been marked to switch on by 2024. The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) Pagbilao substation is key to facilitate EWC’s power generators to deliver electricity to the grid.EWC’s LNG terminal is set to become a hub of LNG distribution around the country once it becomes fully operational. The company reported to the Australian Stock Exchange that its facility is capable of handling 3 million metric tons per annum of LNG. Its first tank could support 3,000 megawatts of gas-fired power plants, supporting its adjacent 650MW combined cycle gas fired power plant, and provide expansion options for both EWC and its third-party gas clients. The company said that the deep water jetty of the terminal would be able to handle all sizes of LNG vessels.The project costs over $750 million of direct investment in the Philippines, and has created over 800 direct jobs during its construction period. The project signifies that the country will now be able to gain access to clean and affordable fuel for power generation and further develop its gas infrastructure.If the government were truly dead set — as it claims it is — in enticing more ‘green’ energy investments as part of its obligation to uphold the Paris climate deal, why is EWC being thrown red-tape impediments? Why doesn’t the government extend a helping hand to an investor like EWC who has remained steadfast in its commitment to invest in our country’s program for clean, renewable energy?
EWC Price at posting:
7.4¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
