Are We on Track to the 1.5C Climate Path?

Are We on Track to the 1.5C Climate Path?

Assessment of the Philippine Energy Plans

Jan Ralph Ebora

2022

In humanity’s battle against climate change, many scientists and leaders set their sights on the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It’s no secret that we must reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to combat climate change. At the national level, all Parties to the Paris Agreement must communicate their plans to reduce GHG emissions. This plan is a country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). The Philippines is a Party to the Paris Agreement and submitted its first NDC in April 2021.

This paper is a quantitative assessment of the Philippines’ NDC, answering the question: are we aligned with the Paris Agreement’s goal? In assessing the Philippines’ NDC, this paper delves deeper into the energy sector, the major contributor to the country’s total GHG emissions.

Furthermore, this paper proposes three ways to increase the GHG reduction targets in the energy sector: improving the renewable energy share in power generation, electrifying energy demand, and implementing energy efficiency and conservation measures.