PNoy’s legacy: more coal plants than those built by all his predecessors combined?

By GREENPEACE
July 21, 2012

QUEZON CITY  –  Ahead of the President’s State of the Nation address this Monday, Greenpeace today urged President Benigno Aquino III to take a clear stand for renewable energy (RE) and cancel all 16 coal-fired power plant proposals approved since he took office in 2010.

“Greenpeace is calling on President Aquino to revoke all coal power plants approved during his term. Otherwise, he will be leaving a legacy as the president who built more coal plants than all of his predecessors combined, inflicting pollution and climate change on the Filipino people,” said Anna Abad, Climate and Energy Campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

Coal is the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel. Coal endangers the health and livelihood of communities and is one of the major causes of climate change. Unfortunately, PNoy’s current energy policy has opened the door to dozens of new coal-fired power plants that Greenpeace believes will effectively shut out any significant renewable energy uptake in the Philippines.

Under the direction of Secretary Jose Almendras, the Department of Energy has approved an unprecedented number of coal projects, at least 16 nationwide, with a combined output of 4,552 MW – a figure which far exceeds the aggregate number of coal projects approved by previous administrations.

While it was busy rolling out the red carpet for coal, the DOE also effectively blocked the full implementation of the Renewable Energy Law, allowing the approval of feed-in-tariff (FIT) rates for renewable energy to drag on. The delay of RE FIT rates have caused the delay and cancellation of RE power proposals in the country.

Globally, investments in renewable energy are outstripping that of fossil fuels. In the Philippines, however, the Aquino administration has secured coal projects until the end of the President’s term, consequently preventing the chances for more significant renewable energy projects to take off.

For communities who will end up hosting these plants, this means living under the shadow of life-threatening toxic emissions, destroyed livelihoods and greater water scarcity. For Filipinos in general, this also means greater energy insecurity and higher electricity costs in the long term given the ever-increasing price of finite coal and fossil fuel supplies globally.

Earlier, communities from Bataan, Davao, Negros, Subic-Olongapo, and Zamboanga, among others, voiced their outrage and disapproval for DOE’s coal projects in an open letter addressed to the President.

“It is disheartening that the administration is being muddled by the wanton politics of the energy industry facilitated by none other than the Energy Secretary. Greenpeace believes that now is the time for the President to show his commitment to good governance and stand by his pledge to ensure RE will ‘fuel our movement towards the rebuilding of this nation,’” said Abad.