ENVIRONMENTAL advocates, the Power for People Coalition (P4P) urged the government to strengthen its efforts this year to build climate resilience among communities nationwide and address climate change to better protect the environment, lives, and property.
“The next DOE Secretary must be pro-consumer and can reverse this by picking renewable energy,” said P4P convenor Gerry Arances, adding that not be like former Energy secretary Alfonso Cusi who flagrantly flouted Duterte’s policy statements on renewables.
An earlier study said the greatest sustainability challenge facing humanity today is the greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change with fossil fuels led by coal, natural gas, and oil contributing 61.3% of global electricity generation in the year 2020.
In 2019, total primary energy consumption in the Philippines was about 1.9 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu). The largest share of total primary energy consumption was petroleum and other liquids (45%), followed by coal (36%), natural gas (7%), non-hydro power renewables (7%), and hydroelectricity (4%). Nov 12, 2020
In April last year, the government finally submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat the Philippines' first nationally determined contribution (NDC) which covers the planned reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the country.
Using renewable energy, Arances explained will democratize the power sector by allowing consumers greater choice in their source of power through microgrids, reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, and serve as the Philippines’ contribution to the 1.5°C goals of the Paris Agreement on global warming.
This signified the commitment of the Philippines, a UNFCCC party, to help meet the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global temperature rise through GHG emission reduction worldwide so Earth can avoid dangerous climate change.
At the UN's 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Scotland in November, the Philippine government also reiterated its call for climate justice and developed countries' financial and technical support for climate initiatives of developing nations.
As part of the research topic on advances toward deep decarbonization of energy systems, the cumulative effect of the conferences identified sustainable energy development (SED) as a very important factor in sustainable global development.
This study reviews energy transition strategies and proposes a roadmap for sustainable energy transition for sustainable electricity generation and supply in line with commitments of the Paris Agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting the rise in global average temperature to 1.5°C above the preindustrial level.
The sustainable transition strategies typically consist of three major technological changes namely, energy savings on the demand side, generation efficiency at the production level, and fossil fuel substitution by various renewable energy sources and low carbon nuclear.
For the transition to remain technically and economically feasible and beneficial, policy initiatives are necessary to steer the global electricity transition towards a sustainable energy and electricity system.
Large-scale renewable energy adoption should include measures to improve the efficiency of existing nonrenewable sources which still have an important cost reduction and stabilization role.
A resilient grid with advanced energy storage for storage and absorption of variable renewables should also be part of the transition strategies.
The transition toward sustainable energy systems is of utmost importance to avert the global consequences of climate change. Within the framework of the Paris Agreement and Marrakech Communique, this study analyses an energy transition pathway utilizing renewable resources for the Philippines.
The transition study is performed from 2015 to 2050 on high temporal and spatial resolution data, using a linear optimization tool.
From the results of this study, technically, a 100% fossil-free energy system in 2050 is possible, with a cost structure compared to an energy system in 2015, while having zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Solar PV as a generation and batteries as storage technology form the backbone of the energy system during the transition. Direct and indirect electrification across all sectors would result in an efficiency gain of more than 50% in 2050 while keeping the total annual investment within 20–55 b€.
Heat pumps, electrical heating, and solar thermal technologies would supply heat, whereas, direct electricity and synthetic fuels would fuel the energy needs of the transport sector.
The results indicate that indigenous renewable resources in the Philippines could power the demand from all energy sectors, thereby, bringing various socio-economic benefits.
“There is no downside to renewable energy in terms of cost, energy security, and climate change,” said Arances.
We hope that the next energy secretary will not be like his or her predecessor and finally champion renewables to help bring about a truly sustainable and flexible power sector for the country, according to Arances.
Earlier, the P4P outlined the challenges facing Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla, designated Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., and other nominees eyed for the post upon taking office.
The designation of Atty. Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla is right now a nomination, pending clarification of his employment status.”
