MANILA – Socioeconomic Planning secretary Ernesto Pernia on Friday assured the public that the bid to meet the domestic economy’s rising demand for power is being done without compromising the environment.
In his speech during the Forum on Renewable Energy and Waste-to-Energy PPPs jointly hosted by the PPP Center and the Asian Development Bank in Makati City, Pernia, who is also the National Economic and Development Authority Director General, said the country’s dependable energy supply stood at 21,241 megawatts (MW) in 2018 while peak demand was at 14,782 MW.
He said total energy consumption from 2014 to 2018 posted an average of 4.22 percent, and this is projected to rise to about 5.7 percent annually by 2040 when the economy is expected to be in a high growth scenario.
The NEDA chief added efforts have been made to address demand for power, and one of these is to transform waste into energy.
Citing data from the National Solid Waste Management Commission, Pernia further said about 40,000 tons of waste per day were generated in the country in 2016, with those from Metro Manila at over 9,000 tons a day.
Pernia noted that “while we must meet the power demand to sustain our economic growth, we must also find a way to grow without compromising our environment and draining our natural resources.”
“This is a delicate balancing act for the Philippines, a country that has a booming tourism industry, still rapidly growing population, and also faces not a few natural disasters every year,” he said.
The NEDA chief further said “the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 recognizes this and the ecosystem’s role in supporting the growth of the economy as well as the general well-being of the population.”
“The government has been working earnestly to preserve the country’s environment and natural resources,” he stressed.
He also pointed out the government has institutionalized policies to further increase the share of renewable energy in the overall supply since it has been dropping in the last five years, with the 2017 share at about 39.1 percent.
One such measure is the enactment of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, he added.
Pernia said implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 is also being strengthened vis-à-vis solid waste management along with enhanced partnership among the PPP Center, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau-Solid Waste Management Division and the local government units.
He bared NEDA and ADB are set to launch in September the Sustainable Consumption and Production Framework and Action Plan.
“The plan will be the backbone of Green Capitalism, where profit-maximization and environmental protection will go hand-in-hand, and in some cases, complementary to each other,” he added, noting that “sustainable consumption and production is one of the Sustainable Development Goals.” (PNA)
