Guimaras chooses sustainable path

TWO months ago, the island province of Guimaras declared itself a coal-free province, and the first to be so in the Visayas.

Indeed it is. The province is home to the 54-megawatt San Lorenzo town wind farm – the first ever in Visayas – that has been operational since 2014. And there are plans for expanding this with an additional 40 megawatts in Barangay Sebaste, Sibunag town. No need for coal-generated energy.

We laud Guimaras for choosing the sustainable path and for taking a huge step towards ensuring that the country meets its commitments in line with the Paris Agreement. But more than our international commitment, going coal-free means ensuring livable communities today and for the future.

Our accession to the Paris Agreement was a vital step towards our climate resilience efforts and equally crucial is the level of action that local governments will undertake. Local leaders must be at the forefront of climate action to ensure that solutions will address the specific climate vulnerabilities of communities.

The enlightened officials of Guimaras deserve commendation for leading their communities towards the better path of resilience and sustainability. We urge all other provinces to follow suit. Choosing to go coal-free and shifting to clean and renewable energy sources ensures that our communities use energy sources that are more reliable, efficient and cheaper.

The power generated from Guimaras’ wind farm is directed to the grid and shared with member-consumers across Luzon and Visayas through the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market. With the 40-megawatt expansion, the operators of the wind farms expect to also cover the energy demands of neighboring Iloilo province.

Take it from Mayor Ninfa Gajo of San Lorenzo, Guimaras: “Our people know the benefits of harnessing the blessings of nature to power our development. Here, we have no coal, thus the absence of all the ills and harms dirty energy bring s with it.”

It is hoped that Guimaras’ example will resonate to other provinces. In the words of Gov. Samuel Gumarin: “We want to show the world that we don’t need dirty energy to power development.  The people of Guimaras have embraced renewables over dirty, polluting energy.  We want to show that a sustainable development path, powered by renewable energy, is not only possible, but more viable.”

The commitment to go coal-free means Guimaras is pursuing a sustainable development path and is a clear manifestation of communities themselves taking the lead towards reclaiming their right to a healthy environment and stable climate.

There is an abundance of renewable energy sources in the Philippines, such as wind and solar. If Guimaras can tap these, surely other provinces can, too. The future of our people and environment and the sustainability of our communities matter. The survival of the present and future generations lie in the actions we take today.

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