The Philippines has a law on energy efficiency, signed by former president Duterte in 2019, but we are lagging behind as far as implementation is concerned. Many companies and local government units still have the age-old idea that the only way to comply with this law is to convert from CFL to LED lighting, install solar panels, and turn off the power when they are not in use.Â
I recently came across a technology—not entirely new but definitely unexplored in the Philippines—that is simple and cost-effective in reducing energy consumption for buildings, industries, and entire communities. It’s called the Cool Roof Project and it involves the application of a special kind of coating on a building’s roof and outside walls so that solar heat does not go through. As a result, the temperature inside the structure remains low, which leads to less dependency on air conditioning. Needless to say, the consumption of energy will be lower overall and there will be less carbon emitted into the environment.
In many countries, this technology has been included as a building code standard. In the Philippines, while the technology is available in the market, the property industry, LGUs, and private companies are either clueless or reluctant to implement it because they are worried about costs. This is where Green Finance comes in. Certain banks in the country could finance Cool Roof projects via what is called the climate loan. An organization does not need to shell out fresh funds because repayment of the loan could come from savings on regular energy and cooling expenses. Studies show that this can hit as much as 60 percent savings on these costs.
It’s a win-win situation because organizations and agencies can now comply with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act while saving money. Aside from that, these groups can significantly contribute to our global environmental targets while helping to save the planet.
Our commitment to the Paris Agreement is a 75 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. Studies show that if the industrial sector would utilize Cool Roof technology, emissions could be reduced by as much as 30 million metric tons.Â
I think that this technology, along with many other measures that are either new or are already on the table, should be explored by all countries, but especially by the Philippines because we are one of the places on earth that are being greatly affected by climate change. We have a climate emergency and we need all hands on deck. Developments like this should always be welcome, most especially by industries and organizations whose operations are energy- or carbon-intensive because our energy security is in the hands of these big commercial and industrial players.
