Renewable energy policy to create more jobs

Manila: Philippines' efforts to promote alternative energy sources will not only lead to eventual energy independence for the country, but will also provide more jobs for Filipinos, a senator said.

According to Senator Edgardo Angara, efforts to develop alternative sources of energy has become increasingly important as Filipino households are expected to feel the brunt of the global financial crisis this year.

Combination

"We have taken our efforts a step farther in terms of energy independence by instituting a Renewable Energy [RE] policy which has one of the most attractive and most competitive incentive provisions in the world," said Angara, principal sponsor of the recently-enacted RE Bill.

"We have examined different RE policies enacted by different countries and have combined all their best practices to craft our own RE policy," he said.

"By enacting an RE policy, we can be sure that this milestone legislation would jumpstart our efforts toward energy security. And not only that, we can also provide jobs in the countryside as we switch to clean energy initiatives."

Recently, the International Labour Organisation, the International Organisation of Employers, the International Trade Union Confederation and the UN Environment Programme released a new report titled Green Jobs: Toward Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World which noted that "investments resulting from efforts to reduce climate change and its effects are already generating new jobs."

The report cited Germany's experience where the number of jobs in the renewable-energy sector rose from 66,600 in 1998 to 259,100 in 2006.