Legal frameworks and financial system reforms are emerging as critical levers in accelerating the Philippines’ energy transition, as policymakers, regulators, and private sector leaders convened in Manila for a multi-stakeholder dialogue led by ClientEarth, an environmental charity that uses the law to drive powerful change to protect life on the planet.

The discussion, titled “The Role of the Law in Accelerating the Energy Transition in the Philippines,” brought together more than 100 participants from government agencies, financial regulators, listed firms, and civil society, reflecting growing convergence between energy policy and capital markets as the country scales up renewable energy deployment.

The Philippines currently derives about 25% of its power mix from renewable sources and is targeting 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040. However, stakeholders flagged persistent bottlenecks—particularly weak grid infrastructure, permitting delays, and land acquisition constraints—that continue to slow project rollout and limit deeper fossil fuel displacement.

The first panel, “Laws and Regulations: Barriers or Entryways to Renewables and Grid Development,” featured Sherwin Gatchalian and Energy Regulatory Commission Chairperson Francis Saturnino Juan alongside representatives from ACEN, TransitionZero, and ClientEarth.

Participants asserted that regulatory frameworks must evolve beyond restriction and instead function as enabling tools to accelerate grid expansion, improve investor confidence, and manage consumer price pressures amid volatile global energy markets.

The dialogue emphasized that accelerating renewable integration will require a “future-ready” grid system capable of handling higher variable power input while maintaining affordability and reliability for end-users.

“This dialogue session reflects ClientEarth’s commitment to collaborate with local partners, to provide practical policy input, legal analysis and technical toolkits needed to advance the regulatory environment,” ClientEarth Chief Executive Officer Laura Clarke said.

“As Southeast Asia continues to scale home-grown renewable energy deployment and attract inflows of climate finance, legal mechanisms and frameworks have a critical role to play turning national ambitions into critical implementation to future- proof energy system reliability and consumer protection,” she added.

A second panel focused on the role of capital markets and disclosure regimes in mobilizing clean energy investment, bringing together senior officials from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE), Securities and Exchange Commission, and ClientEarth.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Assistant Governor Pia Bernadette Roman-Tayag highlighted the need for coordinated policy architecture to shift capital flows toward sustainable assets.

“The shift in portfolio composition will not come from a single lever. It will come from the cumulative effect of clear classification frameworks, credible market references, and consistent supervisory expectations — all working together to make sustainability the path of least resistance for capital allocation,” she said.

“On our part, BSP is advancing this on multiple fronts — embedding climate risk into our supervisory framework, developing practical market tools to identify and finance transition and adaptation activities, and convening the partnerships needed to mobilize capital at scale. We are building the conditions under which sustainable finance becomes not just the right thing to do, but the rational thing to do,” Roman-Tayag added.

For its part, the Philippine Stock Exchange underscored the role of capital markets in easing financing constraints for energy projects and accelerating clean energy deployment.

“Promoting investments towards projects that advance the country’s clean energy ambitions will be key, as we work to assist developers and other stakeholders in securing long-term funding, leading to reduced financial burdens and increased resources to scale and execute these projects,” PSE Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer Roel Refran said. “Likewise, the Exchange continues to promote full, fair, and accurate reporting in accordance with global financial and sustainability reporting standards as well as investment in nature-based solutions..”

Closing the forum, Department of Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara reiterated the importance of regulatory adaptability in supporting the transition.

“Today’s discussions have underscored how effective regulatory frameworks are critical to accelerating renewable energy deployment and unlocking its full potential, and how legal and financial tools can guide the necessary capital allocations towards supporting climate and energy goals,” she concluded.

Do you think current Philippine regulatory and financial frameworks are moving fast enough to support the country’s renewable energy targets—or are bottlenecks still outweighing progress?

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