The Impact of Climate change and Energy Crisis

in the Philippines

As the Philippines continues to face a population increase, and the consequence of sustaining
its growing needs, energy as a resource becomes a steady and nagging concern for the
government and the people.

Since the early ‘90s, the Philippines has always been prone to recurring power shortages.
Power interruptions commonly occur during the summer months, when electric power plants run
low on dispatchable reserves due to increased electricity demand. In 2019 alone, almost 10
“yellow alert” status have been issued by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines,
indicating that operating reserves of electric power plants have dropped below the required
generating capacity. While this didn’t result in rolling brownouts, there were still power outages
that have been reported in some parts of the country.

We are potentially facing a looming energy crisis in the next few years, as a result of the
country’s rapid increase in population, urbanization, and industrialization. The perennial problem
has worsened, now exacerbated by climate change, which is the direct result of our
dependence on coal for energy security. The crisis we face now is how to satisfy this increased
energy demand without worsening our impact to climate change.

In this day when climate change has become a certainty backed by evidence-based studies that
show how human activities have hastened the damage brought about by increased greenhouse
gas emissions in the atmosphere, one would suppose that the search for and the use of
alternative energy sources that are renewable, sustainable and harmless would be number 1
priority.

Solutions

 Shift to clean and renewable energy sources

The Philippines has largely remained reliant on traditional energy sources for its electricity
demand. A 2018 report from the Department of Energy (DOE) reveals that coal continues to be
the country’s biggest fuel source, comprising 52% of overall electricity generated.

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 However, coal-burning for power generation is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas
emissions that is the cause of climate change accounting for one-third of all carbon dioxide
emissions in the world, according to the International Energy Agency.

The use of solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and hydro power is the alternative sources is good
indication that we’re moving away from coal, while keeping in mind sustainability and increased
energy security for the country.

For our part, we can campaign for clean energy, and ask our government to push reforms that
will shift our reliance to more renewable energy sources.

 Do an energy audit on your home

One way to minimize the environmental footprint of our power consumption is to be conscious
about how we use electricity. An energy audit allows you to measure your home’s energy
consumption and identify areas where energy waste can occur, thereby helping you to save
energy and reduce costs. It’s frequently performed in government or private properties for
energy-efficiency certification, but nowadays, anyone can have their homes audited. You can
also see your energy consumption through meralco website and app.

Conclusion

Climate change has contributed to changing patterns of extreme weather across the globe, from
longer and hotter heat waves to heavier rains. From a broad perspective, all weather events are
now connected to climate change. While natural variability continues to play a key role in
extreme weather, climate change has shifted the odds and changed the natural limits, making
certain types of extreme weather more frequent and more intense.

While our understanding of how climate change affects extreme weather is still developing,
evidence suggests that extreme weather may be affected even more than anticipated. Extreme
weather is on the rise, and the indications are that it will continue to increase, in both predictable
and unpredictable ways.

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 And in order to prevent an energy crisis, it is also crucial that we consume less energy by
improving and modernizing energy infrastructure such as smart grid solutions, and smart cities.
It is also important that we replace old devices by energy efficient solutions, such as replacing
traditional light bulbs by LEDs.

Unlike fossil fuels, some energy sources are totally renewable, and do not emit greenhouse
gases. These clean and sustainable alternative energy solutions include solar energy,
hydropower, wind energy, geothermal energy and biomass energy offering the benefit of lower
emissions of carbon and other types of pollution.

References:

Inquirer.net (June 14, 2020) “A greener, cleaner tomorrow’ Retrieved from

https://business.inquirer.net/287383/how-to-guide-natural-gas-to-help-energy-crisis

Inquirer.net (June 14, 2020) Energy crisis and climate change Retrieved from

https://opinion.inquirer.net/27527/energy-crisis-and-climate-change

Agero Nikki Rose, Pedrosa Aaron(2019) “Philippines in focus: Energy and Climate Change”
Retrieved from https://www.11.be/en/news/item/philippines-in-focus-energy-and-climate-change

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