The Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED) said the Department of Health (DOH) must improve its stance towards the use of fossil fuels in the country.
Avril De Torres, CEED deputy executive director, said in a statement the DOH only lobbies for a national plan against the minimal use of fuel in the country, despite expressing support for the call made by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other health groups for the phasing out of fossil fuels.
“The existence of fossil fuel projects highlights the health disparity that communities exposed to such projects are subjected to. In a 2020 study that reveals the cost of air pollution from fossil fuels, the number is disconcerting: an estimated 27,000 premature deaths are attributed to fossil fuel air production in the Philippines,” De Torres said.
As the main public health agency of the country, the DOH’s statement provides“a critical turning point” in pushing for the fight against fossil fuels to improve public health, she added.
“DOH must put forward concrete curtailment of fossil fuels that have been globally established as a health hazard,” De Torres further said.
According to CEED, the responsibility to protect communities from the harmful effects of fossil fuels is not on the DOH alone asthe Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is the main government agency tasked to implement the Philippine Clean Air Act.
De Torres said the DENR has failed to update the country’s air quality guidelines based on the new WHO air quality guidelines and the latest scientific findings, apart from the lack of enough ambient air quality monitoring systems and the availability of such information to stakeholders.
Earlier, the Department of Energy said the moratorium on building new coal-fired power plants will continue under the current administration.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said such decision is also supported by current market sentiments especially by banks and insurers, but he noted the need for the transition to be managed and orderly as the country needs all power available from different sources.
