Policymakers, national and local government officials, industry leaders, energy experts, and civil society organizations affirmed their collective commitment to accelerate the shift to clean, affordable, and secure energy in the country during the Philippine Energy Transition Dialogue 2025, held September 3-4 in Makati City.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sharon Garin echoed the President’s vision and call for action in navigating the opportunities and challenges of the country’s energy transition.
“By shifting to renewable energy (RE) sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower, we can aim for a more stable and affordable power supply, and a more sustainable future for all Filipinos. We are acting swiftly to meet the targets and transition to a greener future,” said Secretary Garin.
The Philippine Energy Transition Dialogue 2025 was spearheaded by Clean, Affordable, and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE), a regional initiative aimed at driving change in the power sector in the region. In the Philippines, CASE is jointly implemented by GIZ, with the DOE as the political partner and the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) as the local expert organization.
Guided by the theme “Towards an Inclusive and Sustainable Energy Future: Navigating Policies and Shaping Developments in the Philippines,” stakeholders present during the Dialogue signed a declaration affirming their shared vision of a Philippine energy system that is flexible, decentralized, and renewable-powered, paving the way for sustainable, community-driven progress that leaves no one behind.
The declaration states, “We imagine and embrace a future wherein modern transport systems can reduce oil dependence and ease costs for Filipinos, energy-efficient industries stay competitive while lowering expenses, solar-powered irrigation and cold storage help farmers and fisherfolk secure their livelihoods, and hospitals and schools powered by solar rooftops that allow them to both operate around the clock and save for new equipment and better facilities. We commit to making this imagined future a reality.”
Among the first to sign the declaration were Energy Secretary Garin, ICSC Executive Director Angelo Kairos dela Cruz, GIZ Philippines and Pacific Islands Country Director Immanuel Gebhardt, Board Member Rolly Distura of the Iloilo Province, and Mayor Annaliza Gonzales-Kwan of Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara stressed the need to “accelerate the development of our indigenous, clean, and renewable energy sources” as she presented the department’s strategies in achieving the national RE targets.
“The Philippines’ energy future must gear towards achieving a firmly rooted, affordable, and secure life for Filipinos –– and essential to this is having a resilient, reliable, and sustainable energy system that empowers consumers,” she added.
Angelo Kairos dela Cruz, Executive Director of ICSC, also emphasized that the energy transition must extend beyond power, underscoring the transformative potential of RE in propelling the country’s economic development.
“Renewables as clean energy reduces emissions, improves air quality, and can prevent up to 35,000 premature deaths from air pollution by 2050. It will lessen the stress on the much already stressed health services in the country. It can create up to 920,000 green jobs, especially if we also invest in local manufacturing and skills development. RE will allow us to reach more underserved areas and provide them with better economic opportunities,” said dela Cruz.
Local government leaders also shared grounded experiences of renewable energy adoption in climate-vulnerate and resource-limited settings, and how solar energy became a catalyst for systemic local change in their localities.
“A successful solar project changes more than the electricity bill. It anchors confidence: investors see a town that manages assets well; teachers count on working computers; midwives trust their equipment; fishers bring higher-value catches to the market with reliable cold storage; families experience quieter nights and safer evacuation centers. And as Paranas cuts emissions and diesel dependence, it contributes—modestly but meaningfully—to a livable climate for the next generation,” said Vice Mayor Eunice Babalcon of Paranas, Samar.
Advancing an inclusive, data-driven energy transition in the Philippines
The Philippine Energy Transition Dialogue 2025 was anchored on CASE Philippines’ Long-Term Energy Scenarios (LTES), which demonstrate the country’s vast RE potential and chart pathways for a just and inclusive energy transition in the Philippines.
Recognizing the country’s existing policies and programs aimed at accelerating RE development –– such as the Renewable Portfolio Standards, Green Energy Option Program, Green Energy Auction Program, and Net-Metering Program, among others –– the LTES aims to complement the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) 2023-2050 by conducting in-depth analyses of power system transformation grounded in long-term visions of Philippine stakeholders.
Initial findings of the LTES were presented by ICSC Director for Energy Policy Romil Hernandez, highlighting the following scenarios:
- Reference scenario: Reflects the business-as-usual pathway based on the PEP;
- Clean energy scenario: Reflects RE targets based on the PEP, estimating 57% RE share in the Philippines’ energy mix by 2040 and 64% RE share by 2050; and
- Ambitious scenario: Reflects ambitious targets to achieve higher energy self-sufficiency, estimating 70% energy self-sufficiency by 2050.
Breakout sessions were held throughout the two-day event to delve deeper into the LTES findings, focusing on sectoral (transport, job generation, and health); technological (solar energy deployment, scaling offshore wind, and industrial innovation); and strategic (modernizing the grid, mobilizing investments, and fostering carbon markets) discussions.
ICSC Executive Director dela Cruz emphasized the need of an “ecosystem of partners” to advance a cleaner, more affordable, and more secure energy future in the Philippines.
“We need the private sector stepping in and stepping up, our banks providing better financing instruments, academia shepherding us with models and data, civil society to provide guardrails and even de-risk initial investments. We need local executives becoming RE champions, we need kids — our kids — at the heart of what we do. We need everyone to make this work,” he stressed.
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NOTE TO THE EDITOR
For more information about the Philippine Energy Transition Dialogue, visit https://icsc.ngo/ph-etd/.
PHOTOS
Photos can be accessed here. (c) ICSC
CONTACT
Sanaf Marcelo, ICSC: media@icsc.ngo, +63 968 886 3466, +63 917 149 5649
