Shell, ECCP map out strategies for New Energy Future

MANILA, Philippines - Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. (Shell), in partnership with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), convened the energy business community for a dialogue on securing and building a better energy future in a stakeholders’ forum dubbed as “The New Energy Future”, on Oct. 14, 2010 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

The stakeholders’ forum tackled relevant sustainability issues such as energy diversity, energy efficiency, energy security, and management of carbon emissions.

Representatives from the government, power, transport, manufacturing, public policy and financial sectors shared their perspectives on present energy issues and how they are finding solutions to address it.

Shell and ECCP saw the need to engage critical stakeholders in a dialogue, as the world is shifting towards a new, low-carbon energy future, powered by a range of sources, from cleaner fossil fuels to renewables. However, to achieve this, governments, industries and customers must work together to tackle the challenges ahead.

Batanes Rep. Henedina Abad, chairman of the House committee on energy, spoke on the legislative perspective of the Philippine Energy Future, while Department of Energy Undersecretary Ramon Oca, representing Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, briefed the industry on the country’s current energy landscape and reform agenda.

Shell vice president for communications Asia Pacific Vincent Cosgrove presented the new energy future in a global context, and showed the many ways by which Shell is working towards a more sustainable energy scenario, including unlocking new energy sources, optimizing available resources, using technology and innovation to lower emissions and helping others to reduce their own carbon footprint through the breadth of Shell’s products.

Shell companies in the Philippines (SciP) country chairman Edgar Chua, on the other hand, presented local examples, particularly those featured in “Sustainable Development in Action: The Shell companies in the Philippines 2009 Report”, which was formally launched during the event.