The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has raised its concerns over a bill aimed at putting a cap on the greenhouse gas emissions of certain sectors, calling on the country’s leaders to adopt a balanced and rational approach to its policies on decarbonization.
“This legislation represents a bold step toward sustainability and responsibility. But it should not come at a cost to businesses and to the economy as a whole,” PCCI chair and director for energy and power George Barcelon said in a statement.
The PCCI said House Bill No. 7705 would affect the food supply chain since the agriculture and food industries would be required to have decarbonization targets, as would the cement and construction industries.
“This will eventually affect the food production sector and threaten further the country’s already fragile food security situation,” said PCCI, citing the position of Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers director Joseph Fabul.
“Compliance options will come at a heavy price. Even now, the cement industry is already suffering from cement imports from Vietnam, where production and cost of power are subsidized by government,” Cement Manufacturers of the Philippines executive director Cirilo Pestaño also said.
PCCI’s energy committee officers David Chua and Carlos Aboitiz noted the standards set in the bill were for first world countries and not aligned with the realities in third world economies. They said the Philippines is a small country consuming small amounts of energy and producing little greenhouse gas emissions. They said the country’s output was three times less the global average in carbon dioxide emissions per capita.
The PCCI said decarbonization targets need to be anchored on actual data gathered from various industries, and that policies must go through cost-benefit analysis and benchmarking.
Sometimes, businessmen are just bent on protecting their interests, but sometimes, they do so with a valid point. Our well-meaning legislators, whose recent track record when it comes to creating laws hasn’t been exactly superb, might do well to review the reality, along with the capability of the affected sectors, and with the long term impacts of the laws they propose.
The Philippines clearly still needs to contribute more to the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, if we do so, we need to keep the reality of the situation on the ground in mind, as rushing in too fast could negatively affect other sectors that are not yet ready to do so, at least without the necessary support from the government.*
