SCUTTLEBUTT
Carbon credits enable countries and companies to offset their emissions, with the revenue channeled into climate action initiatives.
Daily TribuneCarbon credits enable countries and companies to offset their emissions, with the revenue channeled into climate action initiatives.
The long-awaited rules on carbon trading are set to be released next week to encourage energy companies to shift to low-carbon investments, Nosy Tarsee learned from industry insiders.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) estimates the country will need around $72 billion in climate finance. It is considering revising its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to align with the government’s decarbonization strategy.
Energy Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella had earlier stated that the carbon market is scheduled to go live, immediately after the release of allocation, management, and oversight guidelines for the power sector.
Under the draft framework, emission reduction activities that can generate carbon credits include: the early retirement of coal plants, renewable energy development, adoption of low-carbon technologies, use of alternative fuels or co-firing, deployment of electric vehicles, and biofuel blending.
Credits may be traded across compliance markets, both international and domestic, as well as voluntary markets.
Fuentebella said the Department of Energy (DoE) intends to set an example for other sectors to follow, though carbon credit prices have yet to be determined.
The Philippines has not set a specific year for achieving net zero. Its current NDC pledges a 75-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, targeting five sectors: agriculture, waste, industry, transport and energy.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement allows for carbon trading as a means of achieving national climate targets, including the transfer of mitigation outcomes through bilateral or multilateral agreements. The Philippines and Singapore are in talks over such cooperation.
Private sector initiatives are already underway. Last year, Philippine power producer ACEN, Singapore’s GenZero, and Keppel signed an agreement to retire a Batangas coal plant 10 years earlier than planned, generating carbon credits in the process.
Carbon credits enable countries and companies to offset their emissions, with the revenue channeled into climate action initiatives. At a GenZero-hosted forum on 20 August, Environment Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the Philippines will need at least $72 billion to deliver on its NDC.