On February 28, MT Princess Empress capsized off the coast of Oriental Mindoro, along with cargo of 800,000 L of industrial oil. An ecological disaster unfolded overnight. Today, thousands of residents have been robbed of their livelihood and critical food supply, with many now also reporting various health problems due to exposure from the oil spill. Meanwhile, experts estimate over 36,000 hectares of mangroves, corals, and sea grasses ceeare in peril due to the oil spill. CEED is currently working on the ground and with various groups and sectors for action and to demand accountability for this terrible situation.

Over 90 lawyers from Oriental Mindoro, national organizations, and across the country assert: "The continuing pollution of our waters and destruction of critical marine habitats are clear violations of the people’s constitutional right to a clean, healthy, and balanced ecology, and those responsible must be held accountable for their actions, omissions and negligence."

We’ve been through this fight before. Years ago, Japanese officials waltzed into our countries – the Philippines and Indonesia – and cut deals to develop dirty coal power plants that would enrich Japanese corporate interests. After years of resistance, people’s movements from the Philippines to Bangladesh and Indonesia succeeded in pressuring the Japanese government last year to stop exporting its dirty coal technologies to our vibrant, rich and extremely climate vulnerable countries. We won. But now Japan is at it again. More from CEED Executive Director Gerry Arances and WALHI's Dwi Sawung in this piece from Climate Change News

Amid record-high fuel rates and a raging climate crisis, Southeast Asia is spiraling into a fossil future thanks to a massive fleet of gas projects, risking the region’s energy security, biodiversity, and any and all hope to limit global temperature rise to less catastrophic levels. This report published by CEED and partners dives into fossil gas projects and companies in SEA and the institutions that bankrolled their destructive activities through financial services from 2016 to 2022.

CEED is happy to be able to share with you stories from some of the communities who today are taking on the challenge of pushing forward clean, affordable, and accessible energy for all. Read more here on the Likas Kayang Enerhiya para sa Sambayanan project in Oriental Mindoro, Negros Occidental, and Sarangani.

The worsening climate crisis, lingering pandemic, and increasingly unreliable and inequitable energy systems provide the Philippines an unparalleled opportunity to rethink its energy sector, and sustained reliance on fossil fuels would only keep the country from reaping the full benefits of its readily available renewable energy sources. CEED explores this in its latest report: Switching On Transformative Energy.

In renewable energy-rich and climate-vulnerable Philippines, both houses of Congress are deliberating bills that seek to develop the midstream and down-stream fossil gas industries. bridge, in the country’s low-carbon transition. While we have yet to fully phase-out the coal industry, the single largest driver of the climate emergency, we are yet again developing another fossil fuel without a clear phase-out plan in sight.

The Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development is a think-do organization that conducts research and advocacy and partners with communities and basic sectors for energy democracy, ecological integrity, and a people-centered development. Established in 2015, CEED is composed of individuals with a heart for the environment and for the people.