CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature

and typical weather patterns in a place. The cause of current
climate change is largely human activity, like burning fossil
fuels, like natural gas, oil, and coal. Burning these materials
releases what are called greenhouse gases into Earth's
atmosphere.
HOW CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS ENERGY IN PHILLIPINES
The Philippines is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the impacts of
climate change, which include sea level rise, increased frequency of extreme weather
events, rising temperatures and extreme rainfall. According to the Germanwatch long-
term climate risk index1 , the Philippines is 5th most vulnerable country to climate
change in the world.
Total energy use in the Philippines has increased by about 20% between 2000 and 2014 (The World Bank 2019). In per
capita terms, however, the Philippines’ energy use has even decreased by 7% between 2000 and 2014, and was only
about a quarter of the world average in 2014 and about 73% of the average lower middle income country energy use
(The World Bank 2019). The Philippines has achieved substantial progress in reducing the energy intensity of its economy
between 2000 and 2017, meaning that energy demand grows slower than GDP. However, the carbon intensity of energy
has slightly increased between 2000 and 2014. The Philippines’ share of fossil fuel sources in total energy consumption
has risen from 57% in 2000 to over 74% in 2015.

Between 2000 and 2014, electricity consumption per capita has increased. With 699 kWh per capita, the Philippines’
electricity consumption remains low compared to the world’s average of 3,127 kWh/capita, and also below the average
electricity consumption of lower middle income countries (767 kWh/capita) in 2014 (The World Bank 2019). The CIA
World Factbook estimates that the Philippines’ electricity consumption has risen to 758 kWh/capita in 2016 (CIA 2019).
As a result, electrical supply reliability continues to be an issue, hurting individual households, businesses, and
industries. Nearly 40% of firms in the Philippines reported being affected by power outages in 2015, with one outage
occurring every ten months on average (see Table 6). The interruptions are thought to have cost these businesses
around 0.8 percent of their sales. Power shortages were a significant problem throughout the economy in 2015 due to
a hot summer and El Nino, which resulted in very little precipitation. Effective demand-side management, which
encouraged the transfer to own generators, helped avoid the crisis (IRENA - International Renewable Energy Agency
2017).
In the Philippines, access to modern energy remains a concern. In 2016, 91 percent of the population had access to
electricity, with 97 percent in urban areas and only 86 percent in rural regions (see Table 6), leaving roughly 9 million
people without it (ESMAP 2019b). The Philippines is an archipelago with approximately 7000 islands, making universal
access to power challenging to achieve. High grid-based power purchase costs have also been a barrier to poor people
receiving energy. Electricity is generated by diesel-powered generator sets in many areas without grid connectivity,
particularly on isolated islands, resulting in high electricity bills (IRENA - International Renewable Energy Agency
2017).Micro- or mini-grids powered by renewable energy can be a helpful solution in these locations. The Philippines'
Rural Electrification Service initiative has already provided electricity to over 100 villages using solar household
systems (IRENA - International Renewable Energy Agency 2017).
The Philippines' NDC states that by 2030, it wants to reduce GHG emissions by 70% relative to a baseline scenario, subject to
financial resources, technology transfer, and capacity building (Government of The Philippines 2015). This would result in a 31-
40% reduction in emissions compared to 2010. (CAT 2018). The Philippines' Climate Change Commission amending its
Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), rated as “2°C compatibles” by Climate Action Tracker. Neither implemented nor
planned policies are sufficient to achieve the Philippines NDC target (CAT 2018). In comparison to present policy forecasts, full
implementation of the projected "National Renewable Energy Program (NREP)" and "The Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Roadmap" will reduce emissions by 11%. While Feed-In Tariffs were implemented as early as 2012, the fulfillment of the
renewable energy capacity set in the NREP has been significantly delayed due to the delayed implementation of other policy
instruments under the Renewable Energy Act (2008), such as a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), and it remains unclear
whether the planned capacity expansion can be achieved (IRENA, 2017; CAT 2018).
According to the Philippine Energy Plan until 2040, by then end of that period over 35% of energy will be sourced from oil,
almost 30% from coal, 12% from gas, 9% from biomass, and only 13.7% from renewable energy sources. The total energy
production for 2040 is predicted to be 137.8 MTOE. To satisfy the fast growing electricity demand, the Plan assumes that almost
44 GW of new generation capacity would be needed – almost three times the existing installed capacity (Department of Energy
2017b). The government aims at satisfying a large portion of this demand with additioal capacity from fossil fuels and plans to
build 25 coal-fired plants in the coming years (Inquirer 2016).
HOW CAN WE SOLVE ENERGY
DEFFICIENCY
Renewable energy is energy that is generated from natural processes that are continuously
replenished. This includes sunlight, geothermal heat, wind, tides, water, and various forms of
biomass. This energy cannot be exhausted and is constantly renewed.
Alternative energy is a term used for an energy source that is an alternative to using fossil fuels.
Generally, it indicates energies that are non-traditional and have low environmental impact. The
term alternative is used to contrast with fossil fuels according to some sources. By most
definitions alternative energy doesn't harm the environment, a distinction which separates it from
renewable energy which may or may not have significant environmental impact.
 TYPES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
Solar power, also called photovoltaic (PV) electricity, is a clean and renewable energy source. It’s converting sunlight into
electricity using semiconductors that capture light and convert it to direct current (DC). The DC travels through an
inverter which changes it to alternating current (AC), which can be used in your home or business.
Wind power refers to the process of generating electricity from kinetic energy in the atmosphere. The Earth’s surface has
a continual wind flow that can be harnessed by using turbines. Many different types of turbines are used to convert this
natural resource into usable electricity, including the horizontal axis, vertical axis, savonius rotor type, and darrieus rotor
type. These turbines have various advantages depending on their design, but all create clean electric power without any
emissions or noise pollution.
Hydro energy is the use of water to produce electricity. There are many different types of hydropower, including run-of-
the-river, which involves damming a river with a reservoir behind it. Another type is pumped storage hydropower, which
uses two reservoirs at different heights to store water when electricity demand is low and release it when electricity
demand is high.
Tidal energy is a form of hydropower that converts the potential in water to electricity. It has been used for centuries to
grind grain and pump water from low-lying land into fields. Today, it’s being harnessed as an alternative source of
renewable power.
The tides are predictable and reliable sources of clean, renewable power because they never run out or need refuelling.
This makes them an excellent choice for generating sustainable electricity without damaging our environment with
pollution or greenhouse gases like other forms of fossil fuel do.
Geothermal energy is a renewable resource used to heat and cool buildings, generate electricity, produce hot
water for homes or industry. There are two types of geothermal energy – dry steam and wet steam. Dry steam
is created by drilling into the Earth’s surface, collecting in natural reservoirs called fumaroles. Wet steam is
created when water seeps down through cracks in the Earth’s surface and heats up before coming back up
again as boiling water.
Biomass is a renewable and sustainable form of energy that comes from organic materials. The different types
of biomass are wood, agricultural waste, animal manure, and municipal solid waste. Biomass can be used for
heat or electricity generation in power plants. It’s also used to produce biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.
Hydrogen is the simplest and most abundant element in the universe. It’s also a clean,
renewable source that can power our world without polluting it. There are three different types
of hydrogen energy.
1.Electrolysis: This process uses electricity to break down water into its parts – hydrogen and
oxygen gas.
2.Thermochemical: involves the use of heat from natural gas or coal to produce hydrogen
through a chemical reaction with steam.
3.Biological: converting organic matter like corn stalks or algae into hydrogen using bacteria in
an oxygen-free environment.
 REFERENCE
https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-climate-change-affecting-
philippines
https://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/what-are-the-different-
types-of-renewable-energy/