Philippine representatives made a pitch for renewable energy development to fight poverty at an international forum in Tokyo, Japan.
The Philippine delegation also urged the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum’s member countries to cooperate on sustainable development, and food and energy security.
“Currently, 70 per cent of the poor still live in the rural areas. Most of them are dependent on agriculture and agriculture-related industries for their jobs and incomes. By making rural areas independent from urban centers in terms of energy supply, we will promote steady and stable development across the countryside,” said Sen. Edgardo Angara, who was part of the delegation.
The 20th annual meeting of the APPF was held in Tokyo last January 8 to 12.
The Philippine delegation cited data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) showing that world energy needs to grow by 55 per cent between 2005 and 2030 to meet global economic growth - or about 17.7 billion tons of oil.
But it added that while the Asian region has been investing heavily in renewable energy (RE) initiatives, the Philippines only utilized 33.25 percent of its RE potential as of 2010.
Also, it cited studies showing the country’s 260,000-megawatt renewable energy potential can provide its entire energy requirement for the next 13 to 15 years without relying on natural gas, coal and oil-based sources.
“Shifting toward renewable energy is crucial not only in harnessing sustainable energy, but also in ensuring adequate food supply for everyone,” Angara said.
RE can also be useful in disaster risk management, he said.
“Even disaster recovery can be sped up in areas by pre-positioning RE-powered water filtering systems in remote communities during calamities,” he said.
Angara cited the example of Japan in urging countries to invest in productive aging for senior citizens through institutes such as the proposed Philippine Institute for Ageing.
He expressed support for liberalized trade in the region, following the successful Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) model.
The APPF is an annual conference that brings together parliamentarians from the Asia-Pacific region to discuss regional politics and security, economy and trade, and inter-regional cooperation.
For this year, the National Diet of Japan is hosting the conference.
Next year’s conference is slated to be held in Vladivostok, Russia.
