Makati pushes ‘Green Building Practices’

At a recent forum on “Addressing Climate Change through Energy Efficiency Investments” hosted by the city government of Makati, Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay expressed the city’s commitment to the promotion of “holistic green building practices” in the city.

“We have resolved to develop and implement a Green Building Code that will require new constructions to comply with advanced levels of environmental standards, and provide incentives for retrofitting existing buildings to promote energy efficiency,” said the mayor in his speech read by City Administrator Marjorie de Veyra.

The city government, in partnership with the British Embassy Manila, recently hosted the day-long forum at the session hall of Makati City Hall.

British Ambassador Stephen Lillie and Philippine Climate Change Commissioner Roderev Saño joined De Veyra in welcoming around 100 participants who attended the forum, among them representatives from the national government, the Senate and the Congress, Makati and other local government units, the business sector, concerned civic groups and non-government organizations and the media.

In his welcome remarks, Lillie emphasized the thrust of his government in partnering with the Philippine government, especially with the City of Makati, in pursuing Climate Change policies and advocacy. One of the approaches he mentioned in arresting climate change was carbon capture amid continued use of fossil fuels such as coal.

British Economic Attaché Mark Canlas gave a report on the fossil fuel subsidies by some countries in Southeast Asia. Fossil fuel subsidies have both advantages and disadvantages for the rich and the poor, he said. But, he added, the rich who use cars are the ones that benefit more from these subsidies. He enjoined all sectors to lobby so that Southeast Asian countries who continually grant subsidies would lift these policy measures.

Participants were also shown the results of a study conducted among six countries in Southeast Asia in which the Philippines ranked a promising third in the overall ranking of the best investment destination based on energy efficiency parameters.

Frederic Crampe, managing director of ReEx Capital Asia, a Singapore-based consultancy firm commissioned by the British Embassy to conduct the study, presented the details of the study, which ranked Singapore and Thailand first and second, respectively. The other countries studied were Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Crampe said energy efficient projects are expected to reduce carbon emission by as much as 57 percent by 2030.

Meanwhile, Raul Manlapig, principal and managing director of Arup, an architectural and engineering consultancy firm, elaborated on the importance of incorporating climate change issues as well as energy efficiency into the design of a building. While the cost of the design and construction may be high at the start, it can eventually be recovered with time because of lesser energy consumption, he said.

Director Ernesto Camarillo of the city government’s Energy Efficiency Initiatives also enumerated the energy efficient projects of the city. He revealed the upcoming initiatives of the city such as the Bus Rapid Transit that would serve the MRT and LRT stations and the Bikeway Project.

Other sponsors of the forum included the La Liga Policy Institute and the Business Mirror.