Climate Change and Energy Policy Program

As a tropical archipelago, the Philippines is vulnerable to climate-change impacts such as coral bleaching, sea-level rise, freshwater-supply problems and extreme weather events. Greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, cause climate change. On a global scale, thirty-seven percent of CO2 emissions originate from the power sector that is dominated by coal.To address the issue, WWF-Philippines developed a PowerSwitch! study, a road-map for developing renewable energy in the country.The government has referred to this study in crafting its power development plan for 2004 - 2013 and in developing an investors' kit for Renewable Energy (RE). To fast-track investments in RE, the Climate Change (CC) unit organized a forum between DBP and members of the Renewable Energy (RE) Coalition. The coalition amended the lending policy to attract investments in RE. This coalition in collaboration with the CC unit is lobbying in Congress for the enactment of the Renewable Energy Bill.A multi-stakeholder power development planning process to support the development of indigenous renewable energy resources in the Visayas. was initiated in 2004. Coral bleaching resulting from warming of seawater is being monitored in Tubbataha Reefs. Monitoring teams were organized in Apo Reef, Balayan Bay and El Nido.

The Climate Change program is supported by grants from the Swedish International Development Agency, WWF-Netherlands, WWF-Indonesia, WWF-Australia, WWF-US and WWF-International. To know more about this project, please email nmsano@wwf.org.ph