Introduction

As the global energy demand soars to drive economic growth, high fossil fuel prices and increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are prompting the search for low-carbon solutions. With climate change looming large on the horizon, countries have signed, accepted, approved and/or ratified an international climate change legal regime where a global energy transition to climate-friendly sources, technologies and systems is inevitable. While there is no single pathway to achieve global energy transition, there are guiding principles, focus areas and recommended actions to tackle the challenge of the energy trilemma in terms of security, sustainability and equity. These are concretized on the national level, where context largely defines the energy transition.

In recent years, the Philippines has seen an economic renaissance that contributes to a robust outlook and makes it one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. The Philippine Development Plan 2017–2022 targeted an inclusive economic growth rate of 7 to 8 per cent (NEDA 2017). This, coupled with population growth, is driving increased energy demand that is projected to grow by 80 per cent between 2017 and 2040 (Department of Energy 2017a). The parallel rise in consumption for all fuels brings energy security to the fore. However, being one of the three countries that are most vulnerable to climate change (Flores 2018), the Philippines’ economic aspirations and energy choices are also influenced by climate change and environmental considerations. For example, the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. Similarly, UN SDG 13 highlights the need for climate action around the world. This is highly relevant if the country is to achieve economic growth with equity and sustainability, where it is reported that 11 million Filipinos still do not have access to electricity and 61 million are still reliant on the traditional use of biomass for cooking, particularly in remote rural areas (International Energy Agency 2017).

For purposes of complying with the historic 2015 Paris Agreement, the country's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) seeks a 70 per cent reduction of GHG emissions by 2030 from the business-as-usual scenario in energy, transport, forestry, industry and waste, albeit conditioned on the provision of the means of implementation that the country will receive in the form of technical capacity and financial assistance (UNFCCC 2015).