Filipinos to Senate: Pass the Renewable Energy Bill Now!

Greenpeace delivers giant card to legislators

Manila, 29 September 2008–Greenpeace activists today delivered a giant
card containing the message “Pass the Renewable Energy Bill Now!” to the
Philippine Senate. The 45 square foot card, addressed to the Senate
from the Filipino people, was sent by Greenpeace to demand immediate
action from the Upper House to pass the Renewable Energy (RE) Bill.

The activists also distributed wind turbine-shaped pens with the same
message to the Senators to remind them that they should urgently sign
the bill into law–and that further delays on the enactment of the
crucial legislation, which addresses both energy security and the threat
of climate change, are unacceptable.

“The Renewable Energy Bill has been languishing in Philippine Congress
for more than a decade, and has been the subject of various petitions
from hundreds of thousands of Filipinos calling for its speedy passage.
Although it has been passed a couple of times by the House of
Representatives, the RE Bill–despite frequently being acknowledged as a
priority–constantly gets stuck in the Senate. Today we are demanding
that our Senators make the Renewable Energy Law happen now,” said
Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner Jasper Inventor.

Greenpeace has been consistently challenging the RP government to show
decisive action to address climate change, beginning with the passage of
the RE Bill. The bill should facilitate the massive uptake of renewable
energy in the country by promoting the expansion of sustainable energy
sources, such as wind and solar power, and by setting time-bound
renewable energy targets. Effective policy mechanisms within the bill
should genuinely promote the massive utilization of clean energy even as
it secures the energy security and sovereignty of the country and
provides great environmental benefits for the Philippines.

Last August, Greenpeace released the report ‘Energy [R]evolution: A
Sustainable Philippine Energy Outlook,’ the first ever comprehensive
energy strategy drawn up for the Philippine setting which shows how
renewable energy can become the country’s energy backbone. According to
the report, renewable energy can provide as much as 57% of the country’s
energy needs by 2030, and 70% by 2050, with ‘new’ renewables, such as
wind, biomass, geothermal and solar energy, contributing as much as 58%
to the energy mix.

The report also details how solar energy can provide as much as 4,700
megawatts of installed power capacity in the Philippines by 2030, and as
much as 13,000 MW by 2050, while wind power can provide 15,000 MW by
2030, and 22,000 MW by 2050. But the Senate must quickly act on the RE
Bill to ensure the fast and effective deployment of such renewable
energies today.

“The passage of the Renewable Energy Bill, alongside the phase out of
harmful coal-fired power plants, is the country’s first step toward a
clean, safe, sustainable energy future. Our Senators must pass this
bill now to prove that they are seriously committed to promoting
solutions to climate change. The Filipino people have been waiting for
more than a decade for the adoption of a Renewable Energy Law. We hope
this time our Senators will find the wisdom and fortitude to expedite
its passage before it is too late to stop the worst impacts of climate
change,” said Inventor.

Greenpeace is an independent, global campaigning organization that acts
to change attitudes and behavior, to protect and conserve the
environment, and to promote peace.

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