Instead of actual
coal, the activists used charcoal, which is safer than the coal used
in power plants. Coal, when burnt, releases a cocktail of toxic gases
that have deadly health impacts on downwind communities. It is also a
major contributor to climate change, the most serious environmental
threat facing the world today.
"It is a crime against
humanity to abet climate change – a crime that Secretary Atienza can
stop by denying the issuance on an Environmental Compliance
Certificate (ECC) to the Iloilo Coal plant," said Greenpeace Climate
and Energy Campaigner Jasper Inventor. "If Mr. Atienza is, as he
claims, serious about working toward solutions to the climate problem,
then he should take the lead in blocking the construction and
expansion of the Iloilo plant and any other similar coal project in
the country."
Greenpeace also
reminded Secretary Atienza about his own pronouncements at the UN
climate change meeting in Bali in December last year, where he called
on world governments to act urgently and decisively to reverse climate
change. Mr. Atienza at Bali had emphasized that climate change will
condemn the
Philippines
to poverty, and, worldwide, will displace some 340 million people
while depriving 1.8 billion people of drinking water.
"And it is under his
stewardship that the DENR is due to decide on the issuance of an ECC
for the Iloilo coal plant whose construction plans have been met with
massive resistance from civil society, church, and community groups in
the city. We have brought this charcoal to him today to remind him of
his words – if he eats them, then he can eat coal as well," challenged
Inventor during the activity.
Coal is the dirtiest,
most carbon intensive of all fossil fuels. Emitting 29 percent more
carbon per unit of energy than oil and 80 percent more than gas, it is
one of the leading contributors to climate change. Although
coal-fired power plants already account for 36% of the country’s
carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector, there are still at
least eight coal-fired plants lined up for construction or expansion
in the Philippines, including the 165 MW coal-fired power plant in
Iloilo.
"Iloilo does not need
this coal plant. At present, there is an oversupply of 85MW in Panay
Island and Guimaras. Beginning October 2008, there will be an
additional oversupply when the existing submarine cable linking Panay
Island to the Negros geothermal grid starts providing an additional
30MW of electricity. On top of that, when the submarine cable is
upgraded also later this year, Iloilo will receive an additional
100MW, bringing the total electricity oversupply to 215MW," said
Melvin Purzuelo of Responsible Ilonggos for Sustainable Energy (RISE).
Greenpeace and RISE
maintain that needed power additions can be supplied by a range of
renewable energy alternatives from small hydro, biomass and wind
within Panay, and the expansion of geothermal power plants within the
Visayas grid, eliminating the need for coal.
Greenpeace is an
independent, global campaigning organization that acts to change
attitudes and behavior, to protect and conserve the environment, and
to promote peace.
