Taguig City - At the sideline of the inaugural Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo, Japan, held from 03 - 04 March 2023, Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla called on Japanese companies to support the country's decarbonization plans as he highlighted its clean power transition programs.
Secretary Lotilla articulated the country's priorities to intensify decarbonization efforts across all economic sectors in two roundtable meetings held at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.
The roundtable meetings also aimed to build fresh investments between the Philippines and Japan, a follow up effort on the President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s State Visit last month to forge closer ties and stronger economic partnerships with Japan to help accelerate the country’s economic development.
Japan leads the region in the transition to cleaner power through various methods, including technologies developed by its companies.
Present during the two separate roundtable meetings were prominent Japanese energy companies and car manufacturing companies which were all keen on their project expansion and sustainable goals development for the country.
"Our government is always keen to work with the private sector on projects which would be mutually beneficial for both parties. With this, our gradual transition to a low-carbon economy entails the diversification of our energy sources, especially cleaner and indigenous sources, such as renewable energy, to intensify decarbonization efforts across all economic sectors as part of our broader national strategy," the Secretary assured the Japanese businessmen.
Citing the opening of full foreign ownerships in the exploration, development, and utilization of the country's inexhaustible renewable energy sources, the energy chief assured the Japanese companies that energy infrastructure projects under this Administration would have a level playing field both for businesses and investment prospects as the country transitions to a low-carbon economy.
The Department of Energy (DOE) targets is to bring the renewable energy share in the power generation mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040 from the current 22 percent. This translates to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reduction of 35 percent or around 119 million tons of CO2 equivalent by 2040.
The energy chief added that full foreign ownerships also open rich opportunities to new areas in energy, such as gas pipelines for private or own use, incidental to operations of a distinct business, or not offering their services to the public.
Organized by the DOE with the assistance of the Trade and Investment Section of the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, also present at the two roundtable meetings was Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella, who gave an extensive presentation on the current development in the energy sector with the executives of various Japanese companies who also presented their future plans in the country, particularly the car manufacturers as they await the rollout of the country's electric vehicle roadmap.
The proposed roadmap sets to have at least 50 percent of the overall fleet as electric vehicles by 2040 for all sectors. This translates to an estimated 6 million electric vehicles and the deployment of 130,000 electric vehicle charging stations. This will help in the transformation of the country by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and air pollution. ###
