The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) will convene some 100 energy sector stakeholders during the Energy Smart Mindanao 2016 on Tuesday, October, 25 at Park Inn by Radisson, Lanang, Davao City.

 

The event is set to establish a stronger commitment to promote and build an "inclusive, competitive, and sustainable energy future".

 

Some of the topics to be discussed during the event are "Affordable Energy for All" and "Gearing Towards Clean, Renewable Energy."

 

"The agenda towards providing affordable energy for all and push for the renewable energy remain a priority," the chamber said.

 

The foundations for policy reforms in the energy sector have been laid through the Energy Industry Reform Act, the Renewable Energy Act, and the Biofuels Act.

 

ECCP said these laws have contributed to enhancing the business climate for energy investments.

 

"However, a bolder implementation is required to move energy development forward faster. These energy laws need further augmentation to fast-track the drive towards a sustainable energy future. There is a need to push for a national policy to reduce energy consumption while we build the country’s capacity to generate cleaner energy, particularly, natural gas and renewable energy," the chamber said.

 

The goal is to transition from coal to natural gas and renewable energy over the medium-long term. This is crucial if the Philippines can catch up with bridging the gap between energy supply and demand.

 

The transition is also seen to help in achieving the country’s commitment to reduce 70 percent of its carbon emissions by 2030 under its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) as committed during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 21st Conference of Parties in Paris, France in November 2015.

 

"While much has been achieved, more challenges still need to be overcome to secure the country’s energy future. To this day, many regions in the country continue to experience power outages due to low reserves and low capacity of many power plants," the ECCP said, adding that the El Niño phenomenon hitting the country is contributing to the long hours of power outages in recent months.

 

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), for its part, said "the Philippines must continuously invest in improving the country’s energy capacity to attain energy security that will allow the country to sustain its rapid growth and make it more inclusive."

 

"Without adequate energy, inclusive economic growth cannot be achieved," it added.

 

It is estimated that about 20 percent of households or more than 5 million households in the Philippines still do not have electricity.

 

The Energy Smart Mindanao 2016 will also provide a platform for stakeholders to witness latest innovations and technologies on renewable energy and power conservation.

 

The event’s participants are from the national and local government representatives, top management (CEOs, CFOs, Managing Directors and General Managers), technical directors and heads of facilities engineering, and environment, professional groups (Architects for Urban Planners, Energy Practitioners), energy project developers, energy services companies (ESCO’s), academe, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), real estate developers, building owners, finance institutions and international organizations.