Aksyon Klima Pilipinas applauds the enactment of RA 11572, or the “Philippine Energy Research and Policy Institute Act”, a decision aimed at placing the Philippines on a path to energy security, equity, and sustainability.
The establishment of said institute strengthens the country’s science-based approaches for not only achieving a more sustainable energy sector, but also its climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. It must be instrumental in producing researches, developing policy strategies, and creating partnerships with other energy experts that would allow the country to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent within this decade, as specified under the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) towards achieving the goals of the Paris climate agreement.
While a commendable development, we remain wary that RA 11572 could follow the list of promising climate, energy, and environment laws whose effectivity have been limited due to poor implementation, conflict of interests, and lack of political will. We hope that the Philippine Energy Research and Policy Institute would significantly contribute to improving the implementation of energy-related laws, especially RA 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act, and educating different stakeholders about the importance of a just transition to cleaner energy sources.
We expect that the Executive Board of said institution will remain independent from the influence of anyone with vested interests in the energy sector. We also hope for a fair representation within the Executive Board that accounts for the diversity of issues and solutions involving the energy sector. We further hope that government agencies, especially the Department of Energy, will collaborate and listen to its recommendations for attaining a sustainable, energy-secure Philippines.
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