GUIMARAS Gov. Samuel T. Gumarin said the island-province is “off limits” to coal and other dirty sources of energy as he vowed to make the province the renewable-energy capital of the Western Visayas region.
Backed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and other local officials in the province, Gumarin made the policy pronouncement in front of various stakeholders at the barangay hall grounds of Suclaran, San Lorenzo town in Guimaras.
The declaration made Guimaras the first coal-free province in the Western Visayas region.
“We want to show the world that we don’t need dirty energy to power development. The people of Guimaras have embraced renewables over dirty, polluting energy. We want to show that a sustainable-development path, powered by renewable energy, is not only possible, but more viable. And we hope that our humble example will resonate to other provinces and to the world,” Gumarin said.
The San Lorenzo wind farm, the first ever in the Visayas, has been operational since 2014.
There are plans to expand the province’s renewable-energy production capacity with additional 40 megawatts in Barangay Sebaste in the town of Sibunag.
The power generated from the wind farm is directed to the grid and shared with member-consumers across Luzon and the Visayas through the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
With the 40-megawatt expansion, the operators of the wind farms are expected to be able to also cover the energy demands of its neighboring province, Iloilo.
Guimaras has had a long history of resistance to fossil fuels.
In 2006 it experienced a devastating oil spill after M/T Solar 1, operated by Petron Corp. and Sunshine Maritime Development Corp., sank off the waters of Panay Gulf. In 2010 Guimaras took a strong position against a coal-fired power plant being proposed at that time in Barangay Ingore, Iloilo City, which would have had very adverse effects on the health and economy of the people in Guimaras, especially their world-famous mango industry.
Since then, Guimaras has transformed itself into a community that has embraced wind power as their energy of choice.
In a statement supporting the policy, Mayor Nimfa G. Gajo of San Lorenzo said: “Our people here in San Lorenzo know the benefits of harnessing the blessings of nature to power our development. Here, we have no coal, thus the absence of all the ills and harms dirty energy brings with it. Today is a victory for our people and our municipality and, I believe, for the whole of Guimaras.”
The Rainbow Warrior, as part of its Climate Justice Ship Tour in the Philippines, went to Guimaras to highlight the power of people to rise up against the devastating impacts of climate change, according to Greenpeace Southeast Asia Philippines.
During the event, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Executive Director Naderev Saño and Climate Reality Project Philippines Country Manager Rodne Galicha presented the provincial government and the municipal government of San Lorenzo a wood plaque in recognition of their effort to go for renewable energy.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Saño and Galicha lauded the local officials of the province for declaring the province “off limits” to coal and other dirty sources of energy.
They said other provinces should also consider going green and turn their backs on coal and other dirty sources of energy.
Saño said renewable energy, like those generated by the wind and the sun, are now cheaper than coal and will continue to challenge coal fired-power plants.
“The issue now is no longer about the cost because solar and wind are now cheaper than coal. We have the technology, we have investors willing to invest in the Philippines and we have local government units, such as Guimaras, willing to say no to coal and other dirty-energy sources,” he said.
In his message, he called on other stakeholders to stand up for Mother Nature “because we need to be able to hand down a healthy and sustainable planet for our future generations.”
He said local governments like Guimaras are standing up to break free from fossil fuels.
“Our vision is the same as the vision of the province of Guimaras. Renewable energy is powering this part of the world, and Guimaras is leading the way. It makes us proud to be Filipinos. This is the kind of leadership the world needs right now,” he said.
Galicha said there is no more reason the government should not say no to coal, saying the right policies are already in place, as well as affordable technology the country can avail itself of.
“It is up to the government to embrace renewable energy and turn its back on coal,” Galicha said.
Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines said the Rainbow Warrior’s stop in Guimaras gives focus to the initiatives of communities in their resistance against coal and rising up to the renewable-energy challenge that should encourage other communities and local government units to do the same.
Galicha said solutions to the climate crisis are already available. He said provinces, cities and municipalities—and even small communities – are already speaking up and sending a strong message that renewable energy is the right way toward genuine development that is sustainable and they are committed to a 100-percent coal-free living.
“This is adherence to sustainable development goals [SDGs] the Paris Agreement, and beyond, for a safe future and healthy planet,” Galicha said.
“The commitment to go coal-free means the whole of Guimaras is pursuing a sustainable development path and is a clear manifestation of communities themselves taking the lead toward reclaiming their rights to a healthy environment and stable climate,” said Khevin Yu, Climate and Energy Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines.
With the abundance of renewable-energy sources in the Philippines, such as wind and solar, coupled with the decreasing prices of renewable-energy technology, Greenpeace and other civil-society organizations are calling for a halt on new coal and urging the rest of the country to follow the example of Guimaras.
“[Having] additional coal plants means we will have a bigger problem in limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We need to stop coal locally, and this is what Guimaras is doing now,” Yu added.
As the province welcomed the Rainbow Warrior, the ship’s crew and their captain, Hettie Geenen, expressed their appreciation of, and support for, the staunch determination of the people of Guimaras to stand up to the big fossil-fuel industry.
“We are now seeing very clearly that those who are least responsible for climate change are bearing the brunt of its impacts. But our visit here to the Philippines has shown us that even a resilient people will not take this sitting down. By the very act of being coal-free, Guimaras sets itself as a national and global leader in ending the age of coal and embracing the benefits of renewables,” Captain Geenen said.
The Rainbow Warrior’s tour in the Philippines, dubbed as “Balangaw: The Climate Justice Ship Tour”, is part of its five-month “Climate Change and People Power” tour of Southeast Asia. The Philippine leg started from February 14 to 18 in Manila, followed by a protest action at the Shell Batangas refinery on February 21. From Guimaras, the ship will sail to Tacloban in Eastern Visayas, arriving on February 28 and staying until March 4, before it sails on to Indonesia.
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Reference:
Mayuga, J. L. (February 25, 2018). Business Mirror.
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