The Philippines ranked first in “environmental sustainability” in the 2016 World Energy Trilemma Index report of the World Energy Council (WEC).
According to the report, WEC described the Philippines as the “most environmentally sustainable country in the world” due to its low carbon value that was below 2-percent growth in GHG emissions despite population size.
The country also has around 7,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy from 116 existing facilities and 224 more RE projects in the pipeline, the report stated.
“Environmental sustainability” is part of the Energy Trilemma, along with energy security and energy equity, which is described as “energy sustainability.”
However, the country lacks in the two other factors of the Energy Trilemma as it ranked 52nd in energy security and 92nd in energy equity. The two covers power supply sufficiency and cost of power.
“We recognize that the Philippines performs highly in environmental sustainability, but needs to improve its energy equity and energy security to achieve better energy sustainability,” WEC said.
“Balancing these three goals constitutes a ‘trilemma’ and is the basis for prosperity and competitiveness of individual countries,” the 2016 WEC report added.
The country’s rank in energy security was driven by the 75-percent generation portfolio from thermal plants powered by foreign fuel imports, the slow development of renewable energy sources, and rotating power outages in 2016.
Meanwhile, WEC said that the Philippines “underperformed” in the accessibility and affordability of power, noting that 83 percent of the population has access to electricity and the power rates are the fourth highest in the Asia Pacific.
Energy security requires the sufficiency and growth of power supply, as well as the diversity of generation portfolio and reduced dependence on imported fuel. While energy equity assures affordability of electricity and fuel prices and access to electricity.
WEC is a United Nations – an accredited network of energy leaders and practitioners that promote “affordable, stable and environmentally sensitive energy system for the greatest benefit of all.”
