US, Philippines agree to boost collab in tackling climate change, energy transition
MANILA, Philippines — Top defense and diplomatic officials from the Philippines and the United States on Tuesday committed to enhance cooperation in addressing the climate crisis and accelerating the transition to clean energy.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense officer-in-charge Carlito Galvez Jr. met with State Secretary Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at a so-called 2+2 meeting in Washington to discuss various topics including security, maritime affairs, climate and energy policy, and democracy and human rights.
According to a joint statement released after the meeting, the secretaries “committed to collaborate on assessment of climate threats, and incorporate these assessments into joint planning, innovation, training, investments and financing to accelerate and increase renewable energy capacity as well as the grid expansion needed to facilitate its deployment.”
The Philippines is targeting to boost renewables in its current energy mix, which it hopes will hit 35% share by 2030 and 50% by 2040. In 2020, only 21% of the country’s generated power came from renewables such as solar, wind, hydropower, and geothermal.
The secretaries agreed to launch the Energy Policy, a high-level platform for the Philippines and the US, to develop new forms of energy cooperation, including on short- and long-term energy planning, offshore wind development, rooftop solar capabilities, nuclear energy for electricity generation, and grid stability and power transmission.
Last year, the US Trade and Development Agency awarded a grant to Aboitiz Renewables, Inc. for a feasibility study to develop up to three gigawatts of offshore wind projects in the Philippines.
Nuclear talks
They also agreed to pursue negotiations for a potential US-Philippines Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement — or 123 Agreement — to provide a legal framework for possible nuclear cooperation between the two countries as well as continue capacity building efforts on small modular reactors.
Once in force, the 123 Agreement allows the US to export nuclear equipment and materials to the Philippines to help the country achieve energy security.
The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is eyeing building nuclear power plants — a pet project of the ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Groups such as the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development and Greenpeace Philippines have stressed that nuclear energy will not only pose dangers to host communities, but also impede the country’s transition to clean energy.
Disaster preparedness
The officials committed to identify opportunities for future collaboration in enhancing disaster preparedness, and conserving the Philippines’ rich coastal and marine resources.
Washington provided assistance and technical support to the Philippines in response to the oil spill off Oriental Mindoro.
They also committed to promote the use of space-based technology in supporting the Philippines’ climate resiliency response and to advance mutual interest in the use of remote sensing and Earth observation applications.
The Philippines is one of the countries most at risk from the impacts of climate change, with poor and rural communities bearing the brunt of strong cyclones, droughts, and sea level rise.
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