Trilateral must tackle green energy — group

Ecology protection advocates in Japan and the Philippines are on guard over the results of the trilateral meeting between Japan, the Philippines, and the United States in Washington this week amid a recent Japanese agreement on decarbonization.

“Liquefied natural gas (LNG) champions Japan and the US should use the upcoming talks to make amends and ensure the prioritization of renewables in the Philippines and other emerging economies in the region, not gas or false solutions,” according to clean energy think tank Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED).

US President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in a White House summit on Thursday, 11 April, in a move to bolster trilateral maritime cooperation in the West Philippine Sea.

The first-of-its-kind gathering by the United States and its two Asian allies is part of Biden’s strategy to stitch together existing alliances into broader “mini-laterals” to amplify US influence in Asia.

CEED is urging the national government to consider the potential impact of the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) platform on the Philippines’ ambitious renewable energy goals.

The platform, a project involving the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Southeast Asia’s primary source of fossil gas funding, aims to promote clean energy cooperation among Asian countries.

CEED raised concern that the Japanese government is moving in the opposite direction in the Philippines’ transition to full use of renewables.

Denounced deal

“AZEC has been repeatedly denounced as a ploy to promote detrimental energy in developing countries in Asia, particularly with fossil gas and unproven fossil-friendly technologies,” Gerry Arances, CEED executive director, said.

“This trilateral is also a test for the Marcos administration’s commitment to the renewable energy shift,” he said.

“President Marcos entered office with a pledge to make renewable energy its top climate priority, but its execution has so far been half-hearted,” he said.

The MOU with JBIC, Arances said, was concerning because of JBIC’s record in promoting fossil fuels.

JBIC is the biggest source of financing for fossil gas in Southeast Asia providing 47 percent of total funds for fossil gas in the region.

“Japan keeps saying that LNG is a necessary bridge fuel and Southeast Asia needs it,” Arances said.

“But the Japanese push for gas is all about Japanese corporate interest,” he said.

Hiroki Osada, development finance and environment campaigner of Friends of the Earth, said JBIC should stop financing gas use which is destroying livelihood and communities.

“Japan, clearly, is championing gas as ‘bridge fuel’ deception at the cost of the Philippines’ climate ambitions,” Arances said.

“With this development, the Japanese government and, by extension, the Philippine government are revealing a clear lack of commitment to a genuine renewable energy transition,” he added.

“This is unacceptable for a country facing some of the worst impacts of the intensifying climate crisis and where fossil fuel-based power generation is causing death and destruction in vulnerable communities,” he said.

“We are a country whose abundant renewable energy resources makes a 100 percent transition aligned to the 1.5 °C climate goal possible. The focus should be on unlocking this, and not in putting up more gas,” Arances said.