Proyekto sa ‘coal’ tigilan na!

MANILA, Philippines — Hinikayat ng ‘Withdrawal from Coal’ (WFC) na  i-phase out na ang pagpopondo ng “dirty energy” kaugnay sa mga ulat na naglabas ng $13 billion ang 15 local banks para sa patuloy na pagpapalawak ng “coal projects” sa bansa.

Sa Coal Divestment Scorecard, base sa criteria na inilunsad ng mga civil society groups, Church leaders, environmentalists, at faith-based groups, lumilitaw na may 15 bangko umano ang nag-channel ng  $13.42 billion sa mga kumpanya ng “coal developer” at “coal projects” simula 2009 hanggang 2019.

“Philippine banks and other financiers have caused the expansion of coal in the past decade thanks to their financial services to coal developers and projects. If they will not choose to phase out these activities, our future and that of generations to come are placed in greater peril. With this in mind, withdraw from coal continues to urge Philippine banks to have policies and timelines to phaseout coal in their work,” ayon kay Bishop Gerry Alminaza ng Diocese of San Carlos, at co-convenor ng WFC.

Sinabi namani ni Gerry Arances, executive director ng Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) na “we, however, appreciate how open the bank has been to engaging with stakeholders in WFC, and believe that its score would improve in future rounds of grading, if only the hopes they shared for a power portfolio dominated by renewables by the end of this decade will be translated into a public position against coal.”