More government support crucial vs climate change

The Philippines is highly prone to multiple natural hazards, with estimations from the World Bank Group placing 60 percent of the country's land area and 74 percent of the population as exposed to natural disasters.

These natural disasters are projected to intensify under climate change. In fact, a recent study by the Institute for Economics and Peace placed the Philippines as the country most at risk from the climate crisis. In particular, the Philippines is most prone to cyclones and floods, due to its location in the Northwestern Pacific Basin – the most active tropical cyclone basin in the world. Yearly, the Philippines suffers from an average of 20 typhoons, eight of which make landfall and are usually devastating.

To combat climate change, the Philippine government has submitted its nationally determined contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The charter covers the country's sustainable plans and programs for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and signifies a commitment to help meet the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global temperature rise, ultimately achieving net zero.

The local business community has also put active measures in place, incorporating sustainability within their operations. Among these is the Manila Electric Company, the country's largest electric distribution utility.

Over the past few years, Meralco has already been laying the groundwork for progressive changes in its energy sourcing, investments, and adoption of sustainable technologies. This includes targeting 3,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity, by sourcing 1,500 megawatts of RE over the next five years while also building another 1,500 MW of clean energy by 2027 through its power generation arm, Meralco PowerGen.

Outside power, Meralco has also been pushing for the development of a cleaner transportation industry with the use of electric vehicles. In 2020, Meralco launched its Green Mobility program to reduce GHG emissions by gradually replacing the gas-fueled vehicles in its fleet with those powered by electricity.

As of this writing, Meralco's Metro Manila business centers and sector offices are already 100 percent electrified. It targets to electrify 25 percent of its entire vehicle fleet by 2030.

Through its social development arm One Meralco Foundation, Meralco also embarked on a plan to protect and preserve Philippine forests and watersheds through its target to plant and nurture five million trees by 2025.

Because of these efforts, Meralco was recognized for its outstanding sustainability performance by none other than UK-based global sustainability index provider FTSE Russel.

Government agencies and other companies are also marching towards their own sustainability and net zero agenda. The Department of Energy has already set an objective to hit 50 percent of RE power generation by 2040 and imposed a moratorium on the construction of new coal-fired power plants in 2020.

In the transportation sector, there are already mandates for biodiesel and bioethanol utilization and targets for EV penetration.

While these are remarkable initiatives, there are opportunities to take the agenda against climate change even further. The Philippines must ramp up its sustainable initiatives and programs for the country to hit its goal of reducing GHG emissions. A firmer sustainable commitment would engage more businesses to invest in the country in clean energy projects.

Secondly, the government should encourage and incentivize local banks to finance green programs, to make funds available to fight climate change.

Lastly, ramping up the national budget to fight climate change is a must. Solid government support will always serve as the backbone of any initiative for the betterment of the country, and will only be achieved if we ramp up investments and closely coordinate with industry stakeholders.