Month: April 2023

Govt urged to give incentives for private sector to invest in smart agriculture, renewable energy, tap ESG bonds for climate actions

April 18, 2023

Multilateral financier World Bank has urged government to give incentives for private sector to invest in climate smart agriculture and renewable energy and to tap ESG bonds to finance climate actions countering disasters.

   Presenting its Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) 2022 in a forum of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), World Bank officials stressed government has to raise access of climate financing to private sector.

   That along with making investment policies for climate action attractive and encouraging access particularly to ESG bonds.

   “Public and private investments are needed to finance adaptation through climate-resilient infrastructure.  Financing mitigation measures from private sector should be incentivized by new regulatory technology-push and demand-pull policies,” said Souleymane Coulibaly, World Bank project leader and lead economist, at the SEARCA forum.

   “On the private side, issuing ESG bonds under the recently introduced Sustainability Financing Framework could leverage private financing for climate actions.”

   ESG bonds (environmental, social, governance) are generally part of sustainability financing supported by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Eligible green expenditures are clean transportation, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction projects, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydropower).

   Dr. Stefano Pagiola, World Bank senior environmental economist, also said at the SEARCA forum that attractiveness to farmers of climate smart agriculture practices should be improved as these have triple wins. 

   These are higher productivity, higher resilience, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

  Some policies must be avoided.  A policy for farmers not to pay for water does not give farmers incentives to use water efficiently.

   In Luzon and Cordillera, a technology that may have higher financial return for farmers is the use of blight resistant white potatoes in crop rotation with green cabbage and rainwater harvesting.

   Financial return is estimated at more than P500,000 per hectare.

   In Visayas and Cordillera, another technology with good financial return is rice-onion crop rotation with the use of early maturing rice.

   Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA director, said that talks on climate policies are now so critical.  He himself has been immersed since 1986 in developing adaptation solutions to climate challenge.  

  “Sustainable Development Goal 13 for climate action is close to my heart. I have been a plant breeder for abiotic stresses, (developing rice) for drought tolerance, submergence tolerance, and salt tolerance,” said Gregorio.

   Climate change adaptation techniques in agriculture enable crops to withstand increasing temperature from global warming and receding rainfall. 

   Gregorio stressed collaboration from the academe and industries are important to promote sustainable practices.

Focus on benefitting the poorest

   The poorest population will be the most adversely affected by climate disasters– with consumption reducing by almost 9% compared to the richer population’s lower 6%.

 As such, solutions should prioritize the poorest, along with women, for their target beneficiaries.

Climate smart agriculture benefits Credit-World Bank

   The Philippines is extremely vulnerable to erratic climate change, with temperature that has risen by two 0.68 degrees C (Centigrade), further rising by 1-3 degrees C, on various scenarios. 

   As financing the cost of climate solutions is extremely high, total gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines is foreseen by 2030 to shrink by 7.6% than what it should be in the absence of climate shocks, the World Bank experts said.

   The good news is climate solutions are well-known as the Climate Change Act (RA9729) has been ratified 15 years ago. 

   For Philippines, these include no construction in flood-prone or coastal areas and prohibition of water facility built-up in areas where ground water is shallow—where land subsidence is high.

   Other solutions are investing in irrigation and in farm technologies that emit less greenhouse gas (such as methane produced in rice farms).

   “When you apply the solutions, you reduce the cost of climate change by two-thirds.  (The other) one-third is inevitable,” said Coulibaly.

   “You see a lot of opportunities for win-win solutions like scaling renewable energy to reinforce energy security and reduce the cost of electricity.” 

Mitigation measures

   With climate change mitigation measures, ominous predictions on GDP could be reversed.       

   Mitigation actions that reduce greenhouse gas emission such as from the use of renewable energy and electrifying transport GDP could increase by about 0.5 percent and generate about 80,000 jobs in 2040. 

   These measures have a positive impact on GDP if carbon tax revenues are used for investment, said Coulibaly.

   To enhance budget procurement, government can also use green public procurement and “layered Disaster Risk Financing Strategy.”

   “Setting a moderate price of $5 per ton of carbon dioxide could signal firms to adopt low carbon technologies while raising revenues of up to 0.4 percent of GDP per year.”

Renewable energy

   Reducing power rates is a significant factor for Philippines’ competitiveness.  Decarbonizing brings enormous savings in health costs as it reduces pollution.

 The greatest reduction in emission of greenhouse gas is from converting transport to electricity. Reduction in GHG may reach 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent given renewable energy investments up to 2050. This entails electrifying 90% of public transport and 72% of private vehicles with $100 billion investment.

   Other climate solutions are scaling up mass transit, additional bike lanes and non-motorized transport, promoting inter-regional passenger and freight rail, and promoting telecommunity through Internet access.

Local approach

   Aside from the private sector, local government units (LGU) should be empowered and trained in capability for climate actions.

  “It’s important to get down to the local level.  You need numerous localized interventions to address local climate change realities,” said Coulibaly.

   Forum participants asserted LGUs should invest too in climate actions as the Mandanas Ruling is enabling these to have increased budget.

  International financing—concessional and grant–  may be limited given many countries’ need for the climate actions.

   “Financing should be concessional to sweeten investment that government wants to do.”

Urban development

   Pagiola said another key sector that must be addressed and financed is urban development as 50% of Filipinos live in urban areas.  Construction in floodplains vulnerable to storm surges must be avoided.

   Water infrastructure should also be beefed up.

   “Improving water storage is not only an infrastructure (solution) but also one of watershed management, along with forest cover improvement.  Their benefits are resilience, diversifying biodiversity, and carbon sequestration,”  said Pagiola.

   There is increasing risk of hunger as food price rises.  So, farm technologies and their financing should be attractive to farmers.  The poor and women will be most vulnerable due to agriculture’s dependence on climate and rainfall.

   Right incentives include using environmental taxes to discourage harmful activities, removing regulatory obstacles to private sector climate action, attracting foreign investors, and strengthening finance sector’s financing capability . 

   Training on green jobs should be made available, along with improving resilience of education system and introducing climate-sensitive health policies. (Melody Mendoza Aguiba)

Filipino-designed electric bike that uses climate-smart bamboo to pave way to Ph being globally known world class bamboo producer

April 3, 2023

A Filipino-designed electric bike (EB) brand-named “Banatti” that uses innovative, environmentally sustainable bamboo  is seen to pave the way to Philippines’ being a globally known producer of world class bamboo products.

   Speaking in an “Usapang Kawayan” bamboo forum, Christopher Paris Lacson, Banatti EB’s creator,  said the trendy motorcycle is just the beginning of a highly promising sector that has the potential to catapult Philippines to industrialization.

   “A bike like this can inspire the young, the leaders, the countrymen, and the industries to say ‘Kaya pala yan’ (It can be done!),” said Lacson.  “It’s not (just) about making money.  It’s about making us proud.  We can have our own. We’re creative.  We’re smart.  We’re intelligent.”

   The team that developed Banatti Green Falcon chose to use bamboo as “it is the mandate of the country.”

   “This God-given supergrass is one of our tickets out of poverty.   When people see a picture of Banatti Green Falcon, it brings an incredible feeling. Something goes on to their mind, something shifts,” said Lacson.

   The dream of using bamboo as a jump-off point for Philippines’ development of rural-based industries is  a much practical vision due to the abundance of bamboo in the Philippines, said Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIDC) Vice Chairman Deogracias Victor B. Savellano.

Single engine, light experimental aircraft built and designed by Antonio de Leon in the 1950s

   Through his Kilusang 5K (Kawayan:  Kalikasan, Kabuhayan, Kaunlaran, Kinabukasan), Savellano hosts Usapang Kawayan in order to sustain brain storming on bamboo development as envisioned by Executive Order 879 since 2010.

   “If you analyze, kawayan is not like other plants as jatropha that government once asked us to grow.  We have taken kawayan.  You see it in every barangay, but no one plants,” Savellano said. “That’s why we’re fighting for kawayan. It’s not that we don’t want other plants.  But let’s prioritize kawayan because planting it brings results.”

   The equivalent of a P20 million-worth farm-to-market project makes for a big expansion in bamboo planting.  For one, the 20-hectare plantation project of Kilusang 5K in Karugo, Montalban just costs P1.5 million, even initially.

   “What will you plant? The hardwood that you will harvest in 10-20 years, or the bamboo that you can harvest in 3-4 years?  And we already have many existing clumps.  With the proper management, you can benefit economically immediately.”

Durable body shell

   The Banatti Green Falcon, crafted by Lacson in 2017, has a body shell made of highly durable, elegant-looking, light-weight (four kilo only versus 2-3x more weight in metal ) bamboo. 

Bamboo mobile designed by the old Department of Transportation

   Its body shell that is made of bamboo may just be worth P5,000.  But using bamboo in sophisticated, industrial products can bring about tremendous multiplier effect on the economy.

   “The bamboo that created the body shell of the motorcycle may just be worth P5,000.  But someone has to plant it.  Someone has to cut it.  Someone has to bring it to the place where we bought it from.  Just this, and there are four levels of job across spectrum,” said Lacson.

   “In industries like furnishing or automotive, there are so many tentacles, many roots involved in the design of the product.”

   If other nationalities such as the Germans of Porsche find value in natural materials such as bamboo for vehicles, much more should the Philippines find value in its own indigeneous plant. 

   An advantage of bamboo body shell to complement an electric motorcycle as in Banatti is it can install a good sound system that can enable one to hear music very well, unlike gasoline-run ones. 

   Lacson himself said the Philippines has long been a pioneer of industrial bamboo design as cited by a local newspaper in the early 1950s. 

   Filipino Antonio de Leon designed a single-engine, light experimental aircraft XL-14-MAYA.  It used a type of woven bamboo called WOBEX, woven bamboo experimental.

   Another product is the bamboo mobile, a type of jeepney spearheaded by the Department of Transportation of long ago.  Its  body is made of bamboo. Bambu Batu (House of Bamboo) cites many other modern, fashionable furniture and clothing products made of bamboo.

   Now that climate-related disasters have shown Philippines’ vulnerability, much more should Philippines tap now what is native and ecologically sustainable.

   “History tells us about the ‘ugong’ created by kawayan.  If that has once been happening in Pasig (where bamboo plants in Barangay Ugong hold on relentlessly to the soil and just create the wild ugong sound), why do we choose to spend millions for other projects?” said Savellano.      

   Infrastructure projects–like riprapping that protects soil from erosion– can cost much more money. Whereas, bamboo plants have been proven to control erosion.

   With its rich network of roots and rhizomes and permanent canopy, bamboo protects the soil. 

   “(Bamboo’s root system) grows in the surface layer of the soil (20-60 centimeters deep) and can reach up to 100 kilometers per hectare.  Rhizomes can survive for more than a century, allowing bamboo to regenerate even if stems would be cut or destroyed in a fire or storm,”

according to Guadua.bamboo.com.

EO 879

   EO 879 envisioned bamboo to be a tool for industrialization based on agricultural development. Also, it should be planted as Philippines’ contribution Southeast Asia’s commitment to plant 20 million million hectares of new forest to improve the environment.

   “Bamboo can be easily transformed into a cash crop for farmers… thereby alleviating poverty.   The growing advocacy for green products is fueling the rapid growth of the US$8 billion per annum market for traditional and non-traditional bamboo products,” according to EO 879. 

   “(Bamboo) is fast becoming a cost effective and attractive complement and/or alternative to plastic, metal and wood materials and can generate more jobs and self-employment opportunities in both rural and urban areas.” (Melody Mendoza Aguiba)