“The coal moratorium is DOE’s way of covering for its failures, bad planning, and its role in causing the reprehensible electricity rate of the country, which today is one of the most expensive in Asia,” said Ian Rivera, national coordinator of PMCJ.
“DOE finally succumbs to the truth of market signals, the global trends of waning financial viability of coal, the strong drive of renewables, and the stranding of coal plants in Mindanao with an excess in baseload in the island which DOE already needs to transport to Visayas and Luzon,” Rivera added.
P4P is planning to hold another National Day of Action Against Coal to demand that the DOE use the coal moratorium to permanently prohibit the issuance of any new Certificates of Endorsements for coal projects in the pipeline.A capacity of 9.88 GW coal is currently installed in the country, a number that would see a 140 percent increase if all projects currently in the pipeline go online.
“No amount of economic growth can compensate for the damage that the climate emergency can bring,” Arances said. The poor are the ones who bear the brunt of the consequences, he said, with their flooded towns and destroyed lives.