The Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) on Friday expressed alarm over a new advisory issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) on the 2020 coal moratorium, which loosens conditions for exemptions of coal-fired power plant projects.

In an advisory from energy Secretary Sharon Garin dated October 14, the DOE outlined non-coverage to the coal moratorium for own-use projects, off-grid projects, coal power for mining and processing of critical minerals, and “new capacity from on-grid coal-fired power plants may be allowed solely under exceptional circumstances, such as during a declared or imminent power crisis, or when there is an imminent shortage of electricity supply that, if unaddressed, may lead to severe impacts in specific areas or regions” as determined by the DOE.

“The coal moratorium was put in place to promote the entry of more renewables, and flexibility, sustainability, and reliability of our energy supply. With every exemption, the DOE undermines the very objectives set out by the policy,” said Gerry Arances, Executive Director of CEED.

A 2024 report by CEED revealed that coal-fired power plants, alongside fossil gas and oil, recorded the highest number of forced outages between 2019 and 2023

“The DOE knows very well that recurring outages from coal and fossil fuel power plants have even prompted legislative inquiries and investigations on gaming, collusion, and even economic sabotage. We find it alarming that it now sets ‘exceptional circumstances’ as a blanket condition for non-coverage, when coal power plants and their proponents have been the primary culprit for outages for years and are thus capable of creating such conditions in bids to expand the use of coal,” Arances explained.

The advisory easing the coal moratorium also goes against the Philippine government’s duties to climate-vulnerable Filipinos, the think-tank said.

“Coal has been wreaking ecological, climate, and socio-economic havoc among our people for decades. Our country has the potential for a full and just transition to renewable energy in the next two decades or less. The DOE’s new advisory hampers that transition by encouraging developers to keep building new coal.”

The advisory comes just as the world’s biggest conservation network, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), formally recognized fossil fuels as the root cause of the climate and ecological crises. 

“Climate, ecological, and energy authorities globally are now raising the alarm over the need to move away from coal and fossil fuel reliance. It is gravely disappointing to see the Philippine government, with DOE at is helm, seemingly running in the opposite direction – especially at a time when our country is set to submit new targets in alignment with climate imperatives under the Paris Agreement,” Arances said, pertaining to the new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) the Philippines and all parties are to put forward ahead the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in November.

The think-tank, however, said it is a welcome development that the DOE is now mandated to “study and determine the specific timeline or schedule for the retirement or transition of all coal-fired power plants towards renewable or clean energy.”

“This shift from the voluntary coal retirement schemes previously encouraged by the DOE to mandatory ones is a step in the right direction. But all this is one step forward, two steps back. As it is, the advisory features a highly unambitious 2060 timeline, provides loopholes for new coal development, and opens up possibilities for the use of false alternative solutions such as fossil gas and other dangerous energy and unproven technologies. Filipinos need to be vigilant, as such policy directions mean trouble for our pockets and our climate survival,” said Arances.
 

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Contact: Aryanne, 09295940057 | media@ceedphilippines.com