A $250-million facility has been endorsed by the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), in collaboration with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), for climate change mitigation initiatives in the Philippines.

The announcement was made by Energy Secretary Angelo T. Reyes who is scheduled to leave next week to attend the two-week debate on the crafting of a post-Kyoto climate change framework in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The energy chief said “the $250 million of clean technology fund (CTF) money will leverage about $2.75 billion investment in these sectors,” which are chiefly aimed at reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The fund flow will be integrated as a component of the Philippine CTF Country Investment Plan, a business blueprint developed by the ADB and World Bank Group in collaboration with the Philippine government.

With climate change risks in the equation, policymakers and affected stakeholders worldwide are now finding ways and exploring strategies how they would be able to move away from “fossil fuel economy.”

Reyes bared the $250-million facility was endorsed by the Trust Fund Committee of the Clean Technology Fund.
Primarily, the funding window will be made available for a wide range of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in the Philippines.

It has been patently explained that the CTF promotes “the realization of environmental and social co-benefits thus demonstrating the potential of low-carbon technologies to contribute to sustainable development”, it being aligned with the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations.

The CTF shall cover programs mitigating carbon footprints in the power sector, primarily for forays into renewable energy development and the application of highly-efficient technologies. It similarly targets emissions reduction in the transport sector by instituting efficiency and modal shifts; and for energy efficiency initiatives in buildings, industry and agriculture sectors.

The funding from the multilateral agencies will specifically aid the country “in combating the rising greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) due to various developmental issues stemming from increased vehicle ownership, rapid urbanization rate, and land use change.”

For the energy sector, the intent would be to scale up distributed generation ventures with RE resources and to introduce energy efficiency initiatives on demand side management.