UK urges PH to expand energy options, include renewables

The United Kingdom is urging the Philippines to diversify its energy options and include renewable sources to reduce its exposure to geopolitical risks such as the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, which has already affected global oil prices.

George Freeman, the United Kingdom’s trade envoy for the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei, said investing in other energy sources would provide the country protection against external disruptions, such as Russia’s war in Ukraine and the raging armed confrontation in the Middle East.  

“The Middle East crisis, as it has always done, puts pressure on oil prices, it's inflationary, and it drives costs up for business around the world,” Freeman told a group of journalists in a briefing in Manila. “If the Philippines has more renewables, it's much more independent and more secure as its supply is more secure.”

The shift from oil and coal – the Philippines’ main energy sources – to renewables not only brings greater energy independence, but also helps reduce global warming and create job opportunities, Freeman noted.

“Renewable transition is key for economic security and prosperity,” he said. “If the Philippines generated more of its own electricity from solar, from wind, from geothermal, from tidal. It's much more secure and much less exposed to price volatility internationally. The Ukraine war, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has caused a surge in energy prices, and now the Middle East.”

By investing in and attracting investment into these industries, “you create new jobs and clean jobs,” said Freeman, adding that renewables present “wonderful opportunities for Filipinos.”

Freeman said the UK is eyeing more “heavy” investment opportunities in clean and renewable energy in the country and that it is committed to bringing its “expertise here and to help the Philippines” to ensure that it will not be exposed to “those same geopolitical supply chain risks. 

“Renewables create opportunities for Filipinos not to work in coal mines and not to work in dangerous old industries, but to work in clean new industries, and the Philippines develops a clean energy sector,” Freeman said.

Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of very high tariffs against China and America’s security allies worldwide, Freeeman said the effect may be “too early” to tell.

However, he said the UK is determined to keep its 99% tariff-free policy on the Philippines, which he described as Britain’s “close, important ally,” to ensure two-way trade between the two countries would remain robust.

Freeman also cited the recent approval of Britain’s £5-billion funding facility from UK Export Finance (UKEF) aimed at supporting key infrastructure projects in the Philippines and the “extra allocation for defense and security” to highlight his country’s pledge to bolster ties with Manila.

“We know how important that is.  They're real commitments, and they're working today,” he said. –NB, GMA Integrated News