CAMARINES Sur Representative LRay Villafuerte and three more congressmen from Camarines Sur are pushing the speedy congressional approval of their proposal to impose a first-ever “carbon tax” on the use of electricity (CTE), to raise extra funds for climate action initiatives – and thus help the country meets its ambitious decarbonization target of cutting our greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 75% by 2030.

Villafuerte, National Unity Party (NUP) president, said that in light of government’s tight fiscal space arising from its past enormous spending on COVID-19 response, the enactment into law of the proposed “Piso para sa Kalikasan” or carbon tax on electric power consumption – to be tucked in the monthly electricity bills of consumers is of “urgent importance.”

Under House Bill (HB) No. 4939, Villafuerte and his fellow Camarines Sur lawmakers are proposing a first-ever CTE on the use of electricity, equivalent to P1 for every kilogram (kg) of CO2 emission per kilowatt hour (kWh), the collections from which are to be used for programs on climate-change mitigation and adaptation.

“Abrupt climate change is not only imminent; it is here,” said the NUP president, who authored HB 4739 with CamSur Reps. Miguel Luis Villafuerte and Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata along with Bicol Saro Rep. Nicolas Enciso VIII.

“It is consequently necessary for us to make a significant contribution to the global effort to stabilize GHG concentrations in the atmosphere,” said Villafuerte, “more so because the Philippines is considered as ground zero for climate disaster.”

However, HB 4939 seeks to exempt from the payment of this climate or carbon tax: (1) households that each consume 60 kWh or below per month and (2) those that use electricity generated from renewable energy (RE) sources.

For RE consumers to avail of the CTE exemption or refund, they are required under the bill to each secure a certificate from the Department of Energy (DOE) confirming that they are harnessing RE power and not using electricity from the grid.

“The swift congressional approval of HB 4739 will send a strong message to the global community of our country’s steadfast commitment to international climate action policy and the 19th Congress’ affirmation of the people’s right to a balanced and healthy ecology as well as the State’s paramount duty to safeguard such right for the present and future generations,” added Villafuerte, who filed a similar climate-tax bill in the previous Congress.

Given the Philippines’ status as one of the countries, if not the “No. 1 country,” of highest risk to natural disasters induced by planet warming, Villafuerte said the adoption of aggressive decarbonization measures, such as the adoption of HB 4939, would help our country meets its ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDO) target set before the United Nations (UN) in 2015 to reduce its GHG emissions by 75% over the 2020-2030 period.

“Proceeds from this climate or carbon tax plan are to be used solely for programs designed to help the most vulnerable Philippine communities better adapt to erratic weather patterns responsible for the worsening natural calamities,” Villafuerte said.

“This measure, once approved, will be the first of its kind in the country. It recognizes the unfortunate status quo of the environment and encourages every Filipino to act now,” Villafuerte said. “The CTE proceeds shall be used to explore alternative and clean sources of energy, provide green public transportation and disseminate climate change awareness, among other objectives.”

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one GHG linked to global warming, and a major source of CO2 emissions in the Philippines via the burning of fossil fuel for electricity, heat and transportation, he said.

To illustrate the alarming rise in CO2 emissions in the country, the bill’s authors noted in HB 4939 that the volume of carbon released from electricity and heat production almost doubled from 25.83% of total fuel combustion in 1972 to 49.74% as of 2013.

Under HB 4739, collections from the proposed climate tax shall be used exclusively for programs that:

Explore and promote the use of alternative and clean power sources like RE;

Assist communities in adapting to climate change and managing disaster risks;

Improve the resiliency of critical infrastructure;

Provide better public transportation;

Disseminate climate change awareness;

Protect environmental quality and wildlife; and

Meet international commitments made by the Philippines to assist with climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management.

“Because the right to a balanced and healthful ecology carries with it the correlative duty to refrain from impairing the environment, it is a paramount obligation of the State to safeguard such right lest such day will come when all else would be lost and the generations to come shall inherit nothing but a parched earth incapable of sustaining life,” Villafuerte and his fellow authors said in their bill.

RE refers to any energy source that is naturally generated over a short time scale and derived directly from the sun (such as thermal, photochemical and photoelectric), indirectly from the sun (such as wind, hydropower and photosynthetic energy from biomass), or from other natural movements and mechanisms of the environment (such as geothermal and tidal energy).