The nascent renewable energy industry in the Philippines is not a man’s world as women are very much part of the sector’s workforce.

Atty. Richie Avigale A. Ramos-Pilares is the deputy head of DivinaLaw’s Energy practice group where she is joined by 10 other competent female lawyers of the Makati City-based law firm. Now that is already a concrete step towards encouraging women to be at the forefront of the Philippines’ clean energy transition.

Pilares is not new to the industry as she is a former assistant secretary of the Department of Energy. Also, she currently serves as a director for the Philippine Energy Research and Policy Institute, an independent advisory body attached to the University of the Philippines.

In recognition of her expertise in the Philippine energy practice, Pilares was invited by the Australia’s Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to be part of the Philippine delegation for the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit Climate and Clean Energy Transition Forum held recently in Melbourne, Australia. Her participation in the forum signifies DivinaLaw’s commitment to address key challenges to climate and clean energy transition, as identified and discussed by Australia’s Special Envoy for Southeast Asia, Nicholas Moore AO. Among the challenges is planning and developing the skills for the clean energy workforce to deliver the transition.

“Clean energy workforce includes technical labor who have the skills to run renewable energy power plants. We need to train more Filipinos to get skilled in renewable energy power plant operations,” says Pilares.

During the summit, Pilares observed that ASEAN and Australia have the same challenges when it comes to renewable energy.

“These challenges, include, among others, the need to ensure that energy affordability and reliability will not be compromised as the share of variable renewable energy rises; and to address significant need for investment in power transmission and distribution,” she adds.