Clean-energy projects get P189-million grant from EU

The Philippines will receive €3.5 million (roughly P189 million) in grants from the European Union (EU) in support of a cleaner, more energy-efficient industrial production.

The grants under the EU’s SWITCH-Asia Program will help accelerate the country’s shift toward sustainable consumption and production (SCP), Environment Undersecretary Manuel Gerochi said in a statement.

The grants award was formally announced during simple ceremonies at the Richmonde Hotel in Quezon City on Tuesday.

The program aims to promote good government in the implementation of existing environmental laws, contribute to climate-change mitigation and reduce other negative impacts of industrial production on the environment.

The Philippines is one of four countries receiving financial assistance under the Asia program, along with Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will take the lead in the program’s implementation, along with the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Trade and Industry, the Climate Change Commission and the National Economic and Development Authority as key partners.

The SWITCH-Asia Program is a regional grant facility funded by the EU. Its goal is to “contribute to green growth, poverty reduction and climate-change mitigation in Asia,” specifically by promoting sustainable modes of consumption and production.

Gerochi said the program serves as “an opportunity to reverse the trend of economic development at the cost of the environment through better practices in production and consumption, especially by shifting to producing goods and offering services in an environmentally sustainable manner and patronizing those with less adverse environmental impact.”

The Philippines was recognized for having adopted a comprehensive SCP legal framework, but it is challenged to curb existing practices and shifting toward new modes of production and consumption, the EU noted.

It said the country also had several key laws but their full and effective implementation was hampered by structural and budgetary constraints.

Under SWITCH-Asia, technical assistance and training will be provided to concerned government agencies for effective enforcement of relevant SCP-based laws.

The focus will be on the Renewable Energy and Biofuel Act for clean energy, in partnership with the DOE; the green procurement and eco-labeling in select government agencies and local government units; and the Clean Air Act, in partnership with the DENR.

The program, which started in July 2012, will run until December 2016.

Results of the project will be regularly monitored and evaluated by the EU, which will then make the necessary adjustments in the implementation. –Jonathan L. Mayuga, Businessmirror