Philippines slips in WEF Energy Transition Index

The Philippines dropped 11 spots in an index that measures countries’ energy transition efforts, reflecting the slowing global momentum amid increasing uncertainty.

The Philippines ranked 105th out of 120 countries in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Energy Transition Index (ETI), from 94th in 2023.

The Philippines’ latest ranking was its lowest since 2015 when it ranked 87th in the ETI, which analyzes a country’s current energy system performance and enabling environment for energy transition.

It scored 48.4% on a 0% to 100% scale, lower than 50.2% last year. This is below the global average score of 56.5% and emerging and developing Asia’s average score of 53.9%.

European countries topped this year’s index led by Sweden with a score of 78.4, followed by Denmark (75.2), Finland (74.5), and Switzerland (73.4).

Among the emerging and developing Asian countries, the Philippines had one of the lowest rankings, only ahead of Bangladesh (109th), Pakistan (113rd) and Mongolia (116th).

China had the highest ranking among Asian countries at 17th place, followed by South Korea (23rd), Japan (26th), Vietnam (32nd), Malaysia (40th) and Indonesia (54th).

“Ensuring equitable access to energy is a critical issue in this region, characterized by limited rural electricity access, affordability challenges, extensive energy subsidies and energy prices not returning to pre-pandemic levels,” the WEF said.

The WEF noted this year saw the highest global average scores in the history of the energy transition index, “with modest improvements in system performance of about 0.2% and strong progress in transition readiness, with a growth of 2%.”

“From 2015 to 2024, the global average scores for the ETI have consistently increased, driven by improvements in both system performance and transition readiness,” the report read.

However, WEF said the overall pace of energy transition has slowed worldwide, due to “economic volatility, heightened geopolitical tensions and technological shifts.”

“We must ensure that the energy transition is equitable, in and across emerging and developed economies,” Roberto Bocca, WEF’s head of the center for energy and materials, said in a news release.

“Transforming how we produce and consume energy is critical to success. We need to act on three key levers for the energy transition urgently: reforming the current energy system to reduce its emissions, deploying clean energy solutions at scale, and reducing energy intensity per unit of GDP (gross domestic product),” he added.

The latest annual edition of the report, published in collaboration with Accenture, used indicators such as energy access, energy affordability, economic development, supply, resilience, reliability, energy efficiency, decarbonized energy, clean energy, regulation and political commitment, finance and investment, education and human capital, innovation, and infrastructure.

Terry L. Ridon, a public investment analyst and convenor of think tank InfraWatch PH, said the Philippines still has limited innovation and research on low-carbon technology.

“Government should partner with other nations which have advanced low carbon research in order to develop our knowhow in this field,” he said in a Viber message.

Source: Business World

Philippines 10-year nuclear plan ‘too late,’ says climate analyst

The long-term nuclear plan outlined by the Department of Energy (DOE) is “too long, too late” due to the climate emergency, a climate analyst said, suggesting instead the prioritization of building renewable energy facilities.

“Prioritize renewable energy, primarily solar and wind as the alternative to fossil fuels because solar and wind are ready now and there is no need to wait 10 years,” Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) senior lead Paolo Pagaduan said.

While other energy experts welcomed the plan, including DOE Undersecretary Sharon Garin, Pagaduan said he is “not as keen into pursuing nuclear energy programs.”

The Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee (NEPIAC) is now on the second phase of planning, which is expected to last at least 10 years.

“I was hoping that the plan would be a bit faster,” Pagaduan said. “Ten years down the line is too long because that’s 10 years too late because of our climate emergency now.”

Moreover, Pagaduan said there is no need to wait for new laws and policies, and that resources should be allotted into installing more solar and wind sources of energy.

Think tank Climate Analytics reported in November 2023 that the Philippines must phase out coal-fired power plants by 2035, and entirely get rid of gas-fired generation by 2040.

Fossil fuels still dominate the country’s energy mix, accounting for 78 percent of aggregate power generation in 2022. Meanwhile, the Philippine Energy Plan 2023-2050 shows growth in renewable energy.

“The Philippines has enough cost-effective renewable resources to both replace fossil fuels in the power sector and meet future energy demands,” Climate Analytics stated.

For her part, Garin said the 10-year plan is rather “too fast,” and that there is no need to rush the construction of nuclear energy in the country if there is a question on safety.

“We have to make sure it’s safe, that there’s no risk of us getting into a disaster. We need to follow each and every rule because if you are rushing because you want it fast, then you might bypass some other requirements,” Garin said.

NEPIAC, according to Garin, has been in three provinces so far for site inspections and eyeing on building the plant in the western part of the Philippines.

In addition, the committee is also reviewing the requirements and necessary standards imposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the nuclear power plant.

She added that additional training will also be provided to the police and local communities living near the designated site.

The design and construction also needed to be factored in, particularly the standard materials in building the power plant. Since the Philippines is a member of the IAEA, the construction of nuclear energy facilities must be pursuant to the international guidelines.

“I don’t want to sacrifice safety,” she said.

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Source: Philstar

IEA: Renewables set to displace coal as top energy source

Renewables are set to displace coal as the top source of energy for electricity production globally in 2025, the International Energy Agency said.

In its annual report on the electricity market, the IEA said that renewables – in particular from solar panels – should see their share of total electricity production surpass a third of the total, passing from 30 percent last year to 37 percent in 2026.

If nuclear power, which the IEA sees hitting a record next year, is included, almost half of the world’s electricity will be generated by low-emissions sources by 2026, up from a share of just under 40 percent in 2023.

The strong growth in renewables will outpace the increased demand for electricity in industrialized countries as part of efforts to reach carbon neutrality, said the IEA.

“The power sector currently produces more CO2 emissions than any other in the world economy, so it’s encouraging that the rapid growth of renewables and a steady expansion of nuclear power are together on course to match all the increase in global electricity demand over the next three years,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol.

That may also turn out to be the case in China, where coal produces more than half of electricity, but much depends on hydroelectric production and the pace of the economic recovery.

Nevertheless, the IEA sees a slow structural decline in coal use, even if developing nations will account for most of the increase in electricity demand in coming years.

It expects electricity produced from coal to drop by 1.7 percent per year on average through 2026, after a 1.6 percent increase last year due to low levels of hydroelectric power produced in China and India.

Electricity produced from natural gas should increase by around one percent per year during the period.

The IEA expects electricity produced from nuclear power plants to hit next year the record level it set in 2021 as France finishes repairing a number of reactors and new ones are brought on line in China, India, Japan and South Korea.

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Source: Philstar