Preface
The Philippines has stepped up its efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in recent years: The country submitted its first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in April 2021, committing to a 75% emission reduction during the period 2020 – 2030, against a business-as-usual scenario. To achieve these emissions reductions, the country’s National Renewable Energy Program 2020-2040 aims to more than double the electricity generated by renewable sources in its power mix by 2040 compared to today’s levels, while reducing its economy-wide energy intensity by 3% over the same period.
Achieving these targets will require unlocking USD 337 billion in cumulative investments to 2040. The OECD Clean Energy Finance and Investment Mobilisation (CEFIM) programme aims to strengthen domestic enabling conditions to attract finance and investments in renewables, energy efficiency and decarbonisation of industry in emerging economies. This Clean Energy Finance and Investment Roadmap of the Philippines (“the Roadmap”) provides tailored recommendations for the Government of the Philippines to help unlock finance and investment in clean energy. The analyses also bring international experiences from other countries that can serve as examples for similar measures tailored to the Philippines’ national circumstances.
The Roadmap focuses on two clean energy sectors that were identified and selected in consultation with the Department of Energy (DOE) of the Government of the Philippines: offshore wind power, and energy efficiency in the building sector, with a focus on public buildings. Offshore wind, with its vast untapped potential along the over 17 thousand kilometres of Philippine coastline, stands out as an opportunity to decarbonise the country’s power sector, with the potential to supply 23% of the country’s electricity by 2050. Promoting the benefits of energy efficiency in public buildings could help reduce energy consumption in the building sector, which is one of the largest consumers of electricity in the Philippines, and help institutionalise and promote energy efficiency and conservation across all sectors in the country.
Supporting the energy transition and the development of the energy efficiency market can also deliver strong economic benefits for the Philippines, including through raising economic growth, increased domestic tax revenues, and the restructuring and development of rural and coastal communities. It provides opportunities for human capacity development and the creation of long-term and highly skilled jobs, including through retraining the local workforce for careers across the green energy supply chain and incentivising skills transfers from the oil and gas sector.
The insights and recommendations presented in this Roadmap will help the Philippines strengthen conditions to attract the much-needed investments for the country’s clean energy transition. Going forward, the OECD can support the Government of the Philippines in implementing the Roadmap’s recommendations, including through tailored capacity building and knowledge sharing activities, to boost investments in offshore wind and energy efficiency.
