Addressing climate change, disaster risk reduction and embracing clean energy

THE Covid-19 pandemic has brought out the sobering reality that the world is not as advanced, prosperous and as resilient as we thought. The realization has come in stark, life-changing terms: We are only as strong as the most vulnerable among us.

It has been said many times that as a developing nation, we need energy to build the foundations of our growth. The destructive, misguided binary mindset put forth by such a message is clear. We are being made to choose: Hunger versus destruction; development versus doom.

The truth, however, is that acquiring energy at all costs will only lead to extinction. The binary does not exist: Our survival is on the line; if we do not find a healthy energy mix now, then there will be no development to expect in the future.

The only way forward is to heed the science and make decisive actions toward staging a recovery that will pave the way for a cleaner, safer and more resilient world for all.

Today’s issue is not just about the security of the energy supply. It is not just about reliability or affordability. It is about increasing the clean energy supply that reaches even the so-called last-mile communities — those that have been denied energy for decades. It is also about using it wisely and efficiently. Energy security that assails the safety of our people and the environment is a sure guarantee against inclusive development.

The latest science conveys that for the world community to achieve the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming threshold of the Paris Agreement, carbon emissions should fall by 45 percent by 2030 from 2010 levels and should reach netzero by 2050. This has been articulated in the recent Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.

We can no longer deny that, even amid the pandemic, the global energy transition is, therefore, imperative. Failure to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement will be a matter of life and death with enormous and lingering socioeconomic consequences, many more times than the Covid-19 pandemic.

We are aware that the Philippines is gearing toward the shift to clean energy. It may not be as aggressive as everyone is expecting it to be but I believe that it is being pursued in a manner that achieves the delicate balance between meeting our energy demands and sustainability. The Philippines already has several laws and policies in place, and more are on the way. What is needed now is the political will and discipline to ensure its true implementation.

Our country has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by the year 2030 from the business-asusual scenario from agriculture, wastes, industry, transport and energy. On record, we are not a major emitter of carbon dioxide, but that does not mean that we have no obligation to promote environmental sustainability. We need to deliver on our commitment. We need to pull together to rise to the challenges and fast-track the development of our renewable energy resources. It is vital that strong political and regulatory support is in place to ensure the benefits and impacts of the energy transition.

Ensuring universal access to affordable electricity means investing in clean energy sources. For many developing and least-developed economies, accessing technologies for clean energy will be difficult without capacity building and financing options.

If we look at countries with the best practices, their transition to clean energy has been supported by an environment where clean energy technologies do not face unfair disadvantages compared to conventional energy sources.

The climate crisis presents the opportunity to promote green growth for the sake of humanity and the only planet we call home. Building livable cities and communities requires good development planning. More importantly, it requires a genuine commitment to the ultimate goal of putting the Earth’s and our people’s survival foremost over all other concerns. We must take hold of that opportunity so that future generations would not suffer the irreversible consequences if we chose inaction.

I am confident that we must put our heads together and act collectively on how to achieve this radical shift in the way our country develops our indigenous clean energy resources. We have the best minds in the industry. We just need to collaborate with resolve, to act with urgency, to aggressively pursue greener paths to the future.

Yesterday may have been the deadline. But we must continue finding solutions to this climate crisis for the sake of the Filipino people and the world.