Greenpeace welcomes signing of RE law, calls for massive investments

MANILA, Philippines Environmental group Greenpeace welcomed Tuesday the signing into law of the Renewable Energy (RE) act, even as it called for more investments in this sector.   Greenpeace Southeast Asia executive director Von Hernandez said the event signals that the Philippines is on track toward achieving an "energy revolution."   "Greenpeace welcomes this long-awaited enactment of the Renewable Energy (RE) Law. This signals that the Philippines is on track towards achieving an 'Energy Revolution' which can end our dependence on fossil fuels and move the country into a low carbon emissions economy which is a key solution to the problem of dangerous climate change. Given the worsening manifestations of a changing climate, moving our country away from this deadly and destabilizing addiction to fossil fuels is an unquestionable obligation," Hernandez said in an article on the Greenpeace website (www.greenpeace.org.ph).   "We hope that the Philippine government will not negate and squander this historic opportunity to chart an alternative, safe and secure energy pathway for the country, by insisting on building more harmful coal-fired power plants and pursuing dangerous nuclear energy. If the latter two should come to pass, then it would truly be a disaster for this country and the government will have frittered away a golden opportunity to transition the country to a clean energy future," he added.   But he said the implementing rules and regulations to be drafted within a year of the law's enactment must be robust enough to successfully fulfill the intentions of the RE Law.   He also said Greenpeace will continue to monitor the development of this policy and ensure it triggers massive investments of renewable energy technologies in the power sector.   "In the end, The RE Law must be the means by which the country will be weaned away from dependence on dangerous fossil fuels such as coal," he said.   Last August, Greenpeace launched the report "Energy (R)evolution: A Sustainable Philippine Energy Outlook," the first-ever comprehensive energy strategy drawn up for the Philippine setting.   It showed how renewable energy can become the country's energy backbone.   "The report shows how, with ambitious renewable energy and energy efficiency policies, renewables can provide as much as 57% of the Philippines' energy needs by 2030, including 15,000 MW from wind, and 4,700 MW from solar--a staggering leap from the country's current installed capacity of 25 MW and 1 MW from wind and solar power respectively," Greenpeace said. – GMANews.TV