Reyes urges Asia to increase investments in clean energy

MANILA, Philippines - Energy Secretary Angelo T. Reyes has urged its Asian counterparts to help spur investments in clean energy.

In his speech during the Asia Energy Forum in Guandong, China, Reyes said countries in the region should work hand in hand in promoting investments in the development of cleaner energy sources.

“I call on our leaders and partners present in this forum to invest in renewable energy development, biofuels processing and utilization and in clean energy,” he said.

Reyes said the Philippines, for its part, is committed to further lessening its greenhouse gas emissions as its contribution to the worldwide effort to combat global warming.

Reyes said that while the Philippines contributes only about one percent to     global greenhouse gas emissions, the country is focused towards the sustained and wider use of so-called Green Energy.

“Consistent with our 20-year national development plan, we are committed to a critical balance between the need for energy to drive economic growth and minimizing the adverse effects of energy use,” he said.

But the DOE chief said that developing countries like the Philippines need the support of more advanced economies in adopting technologies that produce cleaner energy.

Reyes said the Philippine energy plan is anchored on tapping renewable energy sources like geothermal, biomass, solar, wind and water.

“We are trying to achieve a more environment-friendly energy supply mix,” he said, citing the more prevalent use in the Philippines of so-called biofuels, compressed natural gas and liquified petroleum gas.

He said that the Biofuels Act and the Renewable Energy Act, two landmark laws enacted by the Philippine Congress, are the step in the right direction in reducing the country’s greenhouse emissions.

In February this year, we started modestly by mandating a one-percent biodiesel blend, which we have increased to two percent. We have also mandated a five-percent bioethanol blend (for unleaded gasoline).”

With the Renewable Energy Act, Secretary Reyes said that the Philippines is shooting for “100 in 10,” that is “realizing a 100-percent increase in the country’s renewable energy capacity in 10 years.”

“Thus in 2020, we should have doubled our production of renewable energy,” Reyes told the summit’s delegates.

He also informed them about a private-sector led initiative in the Philippines which calls for a shift from the use of incandescent bulbs to more energy efficient flourescent light, the switch from fossil to alternative fuels for transportation, and the more prevalent use of renewable energy for power generation.