BY FR. SHAY CULLEN
THE RELIANCE of the world economy on the burning of fossil fuels, oil and gas continues to drive up global temperatures. The sweltering heat of the past three months is just a small indication of what it will be like in the years to come. Every year is hotter than the year previously. We are not going to keep the increase in world temperature below 1.5 degrees at the present consumption of fossil fuels.
That means we have to be ready for more powerful destructive typhoons, droughts and health problems and many Filipinos will meet an early death from heat and pollution-caused disease. The hotter the temperature, the greater the demand for electricity to drive air conditioners and electric appliances. That means more burning of fossil fuel to meet the demand. Global warming itself is caused by the non-stop burning of fossil fuels for the past hundred years. That is the cause of many serious health problems leading to death.
The Philippine economy will likely grow. That means more investment and more power generation but there are serious costs. The Philippines is 77 percent dependent on coal-fired power plants and despite government policies and low tax for renewables, the nation is far behind replacing the coal and oil power plants with renewables. The only way to wean the power companies off coal, oil and gas addiction is to give an additional massive tax cut for every new solar, wind or geo-thermal power plant and raising taxes on coal and oil and setting a 10-year deadline for their phase out.
Some government officials and power companies have made glowing statements and announced policies and commitments to promote renewables as a priority yet they are not phasing out coal plants or passing legislation to do so within a short time frame. The power companies seem to be addicted to fossil fuels and pay lip service to renewables. The actual implementation of renewables is far from reality.
The government bureaucracy and alleged corrupt practices by which permits and licenses for the importation of equipment, land acquisition, power lines, tower construction and so on are suffering endless delays. Are some officials waiting for bigger gifts? Every delaying tactic seems to be deployed to make the renewable corporations pay more under the table. This is what is slowing down the development of renewables like solar, wind, geothermal and hydro-electric power plant projects. In Zambales, for example, ACEN- a subsidiary of Ayala- and Aboitiz, are one year trying to erect towers and attach power lines in Zambales for their solar power plant projects. (To be continued)/PN
