Tokyo-backed AZEC goes vs Manila’s RE goals–group

THE support extended by the Japanese government for the rollout of the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) platform in the Philippines is allegedly moving in the opposite direction of the Philippine government’s push for the development of more renewable energy (RE) projects.

This is according to clean energy think tank Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED), which said that “AZEC has been repeatedly denounced as a ploy to promote detrimental energy in developing countries in Asia, particularly with fossil gas and unproven fossil-friendly technologies.”

Earlier, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with three major energy firms in the country for the rollout of the Japanese-led AZEC platform. The three power firms are jointly pushing for new natural gas-fired power generating facilities in the country and are in talks to acquire the Philippines’s first liquefied natural gas import terminal owned by the Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Co.

“With this development, the Japanese government and, by extension, the Philippine government are revealing a clear lack of commitment to a genuine renewable energy transition,” CEED Executive Director Gerry Arances was quoted in a statement as saying.

The Philippines is the third partner country, after Vietnam and Indonesia, to have agreed to establish a framework for holding local discussions between the Japanese public and private sectors, including Japanese companies, and the local government, since the launch of the AZEC framework at the Ministerial Meeting in March 2023.

Arances said the MOU with the JBIC was “concerning” because of the bank ’s record in promoting fossil fuels. “Japan keeps saying that LNG is a necessary bridge fuel and Southeast Asia needs it. But the Japanese push for gas is all about Japanese corporate interest,” he said.

CEED said since the Philippines is “abundant” with RE resources, a 100 percent transition is possible. The latest total installed RE capacity in the Philippines from solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass technologies as of end-january 2024 stood at 8,417 megawatts (MW).

“We are a country whose abundant renewable energy resources makes a 100-percent transition aligned to the 1.5 °C climate goal possible. The focus should be on unlocking this, and not in putting up more gas,” Arances said.