Civil society groups launched an industrywide case for action on Friday to address the impact of renewable energy by integrating policies, practices, norms, and behaviors. This approach aims to enable the sector to anticipate and respond responsibly to ecological and social impacts.
The Responsible Energy Initiative Philippines highlighted during the launch of the inaugural International Day of Clean Energy that while the benefits of renewable energy (RE) are widely acknowledged—from decarbonization and expanding energy access to job creation—the impacts of the energy transition, particularly from the production and deployment of utility-scale RE, are inadequately addressed.
The initiative emphasized that these impacts include the displacement of indigenous communities, threats to biodiversity, environmental pollution from end-of-life disposal, and the potential to impede the country’s energy transition.
According to REI Philippines, the energy transition, which shows promise with a forward-looking policy direction, provides an opportunity for the RE sector to pioneer a shift towards business models that reduce harm, enable social justice and economic resilience, and regenerate ecosystems.
REI Philippines, a multiyear program designed as a collaborative platform, is currently led by a consortium of six leading international and Philippine-based think tanks and civil society organizations: the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), Oxfam Pilipinas, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Philippines, Forum for the Future, the Center for Empowerment, Innovation and Training on Renewable Energy (CentRE), and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.
Close to 100 representatives from industry, finance, civil society, and policymakers attended the launch of REI Philippines at the Astoria Plaza Hotel in Pasig City.
“The Philippines’ renewable energy transition is best described by a single word: potential. Driven by our abundant clean and indigenous sources, the roadmap of our efforts for energy transition has long been underway. This is supported by the significant impacts that we have seen of RE helping to ensure affordable, reliable, and secure energy for Filipinos,” said ICSC executive director Angelo Kairos Dela Cruz.