Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez has called on President Benigno S. Aquino III on Monday to step up efforts to fulfill the country’s commitments in the P21st Conference of Parties in the wake of what Romualdez said was the President’s apparent support for the development of coal plants.
At the beginning of the year President Aquino inaugurated a 300 megawatt coal power plant in Davao just a month after the COP21, also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, where the parties talked about how to implement the agreements set by the United Nations Framework on Climate Change to lessen greenhouse gas emissions to solve climate change. A total of 195 countries, the Philippines included, eventually committed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions conditionally by 70 percent by 2030.
“President Aquino was applauded for committing full decarbonization by 2050. This means that the country will be entirely powered by renewable energy by then. This is a huge leap, to be honest––and to achieve this, all government projects should already be aligned as early as now toward reducing carbon emissions,” explained Romualdez, a member of the House Committee on Climate Change.
Aside from the new coal plant inaugurated in Davao, 23 new coal plants are set to be completed by 2020.
“While these coal plants were in the pipeline before the Paris agreement, the signing of the accord requires us to revisit past and present agreements to ensure that we meet our obligations in the future. That is the essence of committing to an agreement like this,” stresed the UP-trained lawyer.
Romualdez pointed out that Asean neighbor Vietnam has already committed to shift away from coal plants, with Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung announcing in January that his government would “review development plans of all new coal plants and halt any new coal power development.” The Vietnamese chief executive also said that Vietnam needs to “responsibly implement all international commitments in cutting down greenhouse gas emissions; and to accelerate investment in renewable energy.”
According to Romualdez, prior to the signing of the historic accord, “President Aquino even delivered a speech expressing the country’s commitment to reduce its carbon emissions. He reiterated this commitment at the Climate Vulnerable Forum, and stated that the government is diversifying its energy resources and increasingly tapping into renewables. This appears to be inconsistent with the administration’s support for the development of coal plants.”
The solon explained that the country’s power needs must be counter-balanced by the imperative to protect the environment and the health of the people. He cited reports from the Union of Concerned Scientists, an organization based in the United States, stating that coal plants are the top source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and is the primary cause of global warming. A typical coal plant generates 3.5 million tons of CO2 per year. The report also stated that burning coal is also a leading cause of smog, acid rain, and toxic air pollution.
“I fully understand that we are currently experiencing scarcity in power supply, but we made a commitment and we should abide by it. We should not hold the future generation hostage by our shortsightedness. We live in a highly volatile environment, and we have experienced the effects of climate change,” the Leyte native said.
Romualedez’s home province was ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013 which is considered as the deadliest and strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded. Scientists have pointed out connections between the increased intensity and frequency of these storms and increasing global temperatures.