PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been lauded for engaging in talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on possible partnerships in nuclear energy.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House Ways and Means, said Marcos effort was very commendable because it can diversify the country’s energy portfolio by shifting away from fossil fuels remains an important step towards cheaper, more stable, and more dependable energy supply.

“The lesson that must be learned from COVID, as it should have been from the Global Financial Crisis, is that countries shift or revert towards dirty energy after crises because they see it as cheap, only to later on see their prices spike up above pre-crisis levels. That always happens,” Salceda said.

Marcos’s efforts to diversify the country’s energy portfolio respond to the most urgent national needs for clean and cheap energy and for climate change mitigation.

Salceda called President Marcos the country’s first “renewable energy President.

“He is the first President to have been elected on a strong platform of renewable energy. That platform and its iconography of windmills was the main symbol of the campaign, as well, and evoked themes of forward-thinking and innovation. President Marcos has been staying true to that, so far, with the liberalization of RE generation. He is on track to achieve much more,” Salceda added.

“While nuclear as RE is debatable, it is definitely cleaner than coal, which comprises more than half our dependable capacity. Coal emits 70x more CO2 per kilowatt-hours than nuclear. Nuclear accidents can be avoided with technology. But coal always kills, with slow death by environmental asphyxiation” Salceda added.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Jester P. Manalastas