A Reaction Paper about the Article: Renewables are Booming but Coal is still King in PH -17

After reading the article of Imelda V. Abanum, I thought that coal is still one of the most used
source of power in the Philippines despite other renewable energy sources because of the
traditional traits in our country. Despite the fact that the renewable energy like the wind
energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, biomass energy, and the likes are becoming much
cheaper, the Philippine economy cannot afford to sustain much sources to provide other
renewable energy power plants. So instead of investing to other country to provide the said
power plants, we stick to the traditional coal power plants and the government are planning to
continue this plan. But as said by the report author Paola Yanguas Parra, policy analyst at
Climate Analytics, “The Philippines is planning to build new coal power plants. This is
worrying as it would lock it into a carbon-intensive pathway for decades, and would be a
huge missed opportunity to build a carbon-free, climate-resilient energy system,” me, as an
individual that live here in the Philippines is also worried about this because instead of
reducing the emissions and pollutions here in the Philippines, getting more coal power plants
to provide energy for the country will surely occur problems because as the Climate
Analytics analysis said, “The Philippines is planning to build new coal power plants. This is
worrying as it would lock it into a carbon-intensive pathway for decades, and would be a
huge missed opportunity to build a carbon-free, climate-resilient energy system.” This will
have a big impact not just only in the Philippines ecosystem but it will also add up to the
growing pollutions in the world.
In my own humble opinion, I think that we, the Philippine society should find a different
approach in making the country develop or make methods that will help us in our everyday
work (less polluted power plants) but yet not endangering our environment and other health
related outcomes and impacts. I am saying this because I know it can be possible. As Parra
said in the article, “The Philippines has a huge potential for developing renewable energy
sources. Their low, and ever decreasing, costs and distributed character is the best way to
provide electricity even to the most remote islands. If the coal expansion plans go ahead, the
Philippines government would need to consider the cost of reducing emissions in other
sectors to compensate for the new coal emissions, to meet its national climate pledge under
the Paris climate agreement,” So I think, we should open our minds in others suggestion that
might not only benefit in growing our society but also keeping our nature in one piece.
Abusive use of anything can have a big impact for us.Making are economy better is a good
thiong but taking consideratrion of the environment and its consequences is also a must.
Because as the saying goes by Sir Nathaniel H. Egleston (1882) “Nature bears long with
those who wrong her. She is patient under abuse. But when the time of reckoning has finally
comes, she is equally slow to be appeased and to turn away her watch.”