Greenpeace to PNOC: Stop coal mine projects

MANILA, Philippines - International group Greenpeace on Friday called on the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration to stop its coal power projects which have been adversely affecting people and the environment.

Greenpeace's call came following this week’s announcement from PNOC-EC president Pedro Aquino that the company plans to pursue two mine-mouth coal plants, purportedly utilizing a method to make coal "environment-friendly."

"Coal is the worst choice for energy-generation—and coal mine-mouth plants are the worst sort of coal facilities. There is no conceivable technology that can make coal environment-friendly. If PNOC is aiming to kill people, we could say that they’re going to do it very efficiently," Beau Baconguis, program manager for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said.

Greenpeace said coal mines and plants near communities endanger livelihoods and cause disease and death.

The group said that integrated coal mining and power plant facilities or mine-mouth facilities are especially harmful because they expose helpless communities to coal’s complete harmful cycle.

Greenpeace noted that the environmental and health impacts remain in coal facilities despite efforts to put in more pollution control measures, citing the recent water contamination case in West Virginia, USA.

The environmental disaster left  300,000 residents in nine counties without potable water for days, the group added..

Greenpeace said that the mine-mouth project proposed in Isabela has been repeatedly rejected by the province’s communities. In July 2006, community folk rallied with Greenpeace outside the PNOC headquarters with a petition signed by 15,000 residents.

The project was then shelved. However, in the past years, despite opposition from communities, it was revived.

Greenpeace maintains that the government should instead more aggressively develop Philippines’ vast potential for renewable energy generation.

Currently there are proposals for RE projects all over the country including in the Visayas, post-Yolanda.

"In contrast, the Philippines can reach a target of 50 percent RE by 2020. We only need to take that leap and make it happen as a country. We don’t need backward and toxic technologies such as coal," Baconguis said.