Public Perceptions of Renewable Energy in the Philippines

 by Zyril Mark A. Undalok

The Philippines' economy and population are both expanding, which results in on going pressure. On the nation's energy supplies, which account for more than half of its imports of fossil fuels. The nation, like the rest of the globe, must decide whether to continue depending on either increasing its capacity for renewable energy (RE) or importing fossil fuels. Being a part ofa signatory to the Kyoto Protocol and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the latter path would be in keeping with the nation's obligations to other nations.

 In 2008, the Philippines was the first country in South-East Asia to pass a Renewable Energy Law, but it has been slow to properly enact it. On top of this, as discussed below, there are concerns that the act and government implementation of it are holding back the expansion of RE. Furthermore, the expansion of renewable energy in the Philippines faces a variety of political, social, structural, and economic challenges. A key factor in easing the expansion of renewable energy is public support and demand (and public opposition will delay its implementation even further). This research examines the current state of public support in each of the country’s three power grids for renewable energy, the willingness of people to install it on their own property, and their willingness to pay for its development. It makes an effort to contribute to the on going discussion in the Philippines and the world about how to proceed with expanding renewable energy, addressing public concerns, and broadening public understanding of the issues involved.

THE STATE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE PHILIPPINES

As of 2016 , 75.8% of electricity in the Philippines was generated from fossil fuels, with 47% generated from coal, most of which is imported. The remaining 24.2% was generated from RE sources, but 12.2% was from geothermal energy and 8.9% from largescale hydroelectric projects. s. Wind, solar, biomass, or other sources accounted for only 3.1% of the energy supply. As an island nation with an extensive coastline, the potential for wave and on- or off-shore wind energy generation is huge, and also for solar energy. In addition to this, the Philippines has higher electricity prices than its ASEAN neighbours, up to a third more than the next highest, and second only to Japan in the wider Asian region.

The adoption of renewable energy by individuals and households has been slow. As of 2022, the Philippines has fully opened its renewable energy sector to foreign ownership, representing a significant shift to the country’s energy policies. According to the Philippines’ National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) 2020-2040, the country aims for renewables to comprise 35% of power generation by 2030 and 50% by 2040. The government also seeks to lower the costs of renewable energy projects and make renewables more accessible to the public.

PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE

Research in a variety of countries suggests that public acceptance can be a significant driver in the adoption of renewable energy. Devine-Wright provides three levels of analysis when addressing the nature of public acceptance of renewable energy: personal (sociodemographic traits); social-psychological (personal beliefs, expertise, and knowledge); contextual (technology kind, location, and scale, and institutional structure). A crucial argument addressed by Devine-Wright pertinent to this study is that having awareness of and knowledge about a particular energy type does not entail supporting it. On the other hand, support for environmental causes could be linked to concern about renewable energy. Also, they mentioned concerns about fairness, trust, and the effect it has on the individual .The community, ownership, and control as elements influencing overall public support for renewable energy, for both individual tasks and as well.

In the context of Bollentino et al. reported that in a national research conducted in the Philippines almost 60% of the 4300 respondents thought they lacked sufficient knowledge regarding climate change, but more than 70% believed they will be somehow impacted. The findings of the worldwide UNDP( United Nations Development Programme ) survey on climate change support previous studies. About 74% of the respondents from the Philippines believed that there was a climate catastrophe. UNDP also discovered that the belief in a climate disaster was only 1% different by gender (compared to more than 5% in more than half of the countries). In addition to its impact on the climate, renewable energy can play a key role in achieving energy security and independence, and in addressing energy poverty issues. Given the current failure of existing institutions to provide a comprehensive expansion of renewable energy, public acceptance of, and participation in, renewable energy will play a key role in its further adoption.

REFERENCES

1. Asian Development Bank. Philippines: Energy Sector Assessment, Strategy, and Road Map; Asian Development Bank: Mandaluyong, Philippines, 2018.

2. Ember. Countries and Regions: Electricity Trends. 2022. Available online: Countries and Regions | Electricity Trends | Ember (ember-climate.org)

3. ASEAN Briefing (2022); Available online: Philippines Opens Renewable Energy to Full Foreign Ownership (aseanbriefing.com)

4.  Devine-Wright, P. Reconsidering public acceptance of renewable energy technologies: A critical review. In Delivering a Low Carbon Electricity System; Grubb, M., Jamasb, T., Pollitt, M.G., Eds.; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 2008; pp. 443–461.

5. Bollettino, V.; Alcayna-Stevens, T.; Sharma, M.; Dy, P.; Pham, P.; Vinck, P. Public perception of climate change and disaster preparedness: Evidence from the Philippines. Clim. Risk Manag. 2020, 30, 100250. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2212096320300401

6. UNDP. Peoples’ Climate Vote Results, 2021. Available online: www.undp.org