P190-M EU technical aid helps Phl environment, energy sectors

MANILA, Philippines -  Technical assistance worth 3.5 million euros or P190 million extended by the European Union to the Philippine government has resulted in the creation of key measures supporting sustainable development in the environment and the energy sector.

Among these are the “National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Roadmap for 2017 to 2040” and the “Philippine Green Public Procurement Roadmap for 2017 to 2022,” and the implementation of the Clean Air Act including the establishment of monitoring systems that provide real-air time quality data for Metro Manila.

Development of a professionalization education module and training of the first batch of master trainers on Green Public Procurement, as well as strengthening of an environmental program for schools with reference to Sustainable Production and Consumption were also undertaken.

EU Ambassador Franz Jessen said they will continue to support projects such as fighting climate change around the world including the Philippines.

“Apart from this, we have an ongoing program with the energy sector which focuses on sustainable development. We also have an ongoing dialogue with the government and within that, we have been focusing on different sectors including supporting the peace process in Mindanao,” Jessen said during the launch of environment knowledge products by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in collaboration with the EU Switch Asia Policy Support Component (PSC) held last Tuesday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas.

He added, “What we do here in the Philippines is that we work hand in hand with the government. It’s not something that we do on our own volition but in cooperation with the different departments. We are not working in isolation. What we are doing depend on the efforts made by the government itself.”

A unique element of the EU-SWITCH PSC program in the Philippines is an approach that uses local socio-cultural values to drive sustainable practices among different stakeholders.

The DENR said that the knowledge products launched are composed of posters, banners, leaflets, booklets, modules, audio-visual presentations and policy briefs. These are outputs of inter-agency partnerships with EU-SWITCH PSC.

Members of the National Inter-Agency Committee on Environmental Education are the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Science and Technology and Department of Social Welfare and Development.

DENR Assistant Secretary Corazon Davis, chairperson of the National Inter-Agency Committee on Environmental Education, said, “Sustainable development including sustainable consumption and production are still not central topics in Philippine educational system today.”

“We must admit that education is one of the most powerful tools to create awareness in achieving positive behavioral change among consumers and producers toward sustainable practices,” she added.