PHL among 19 nations committed to use more bioenergy to slow climate change

BONN, Germany - The Philippines, China and 17 other nations representing half the world's population said on Thursday they planned to increase the use of wood and other plant matter from sustainable sources to generate energy as part of efforts to limit climate change.

The group would work out collective targets for increasing the use of what they called sustainable bioenergy, they said during talks in Germany among 200 nations on bolstering the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Philippines, Sweden and Uruguay signed up for the plan.

Legarda: PHL at COP23 Renews Strong Call for Climate Justice—Pls read: https://t.co/HGriOk7j7H pic.twitter.com/xrJxhmKKHZ

— loren legarda (@loren_legarda) November 16, 2017

"We in the Philippines are doing our part. Despite all odds, we ratified and became party to the Paris Agreement. We have mainstreamed climate and geo-tagging into our budget processes," said Sen. Loren, the Philippines' head of delegation, in her social media account.

"We have set up a People’s Survival Fund, which provides over a billion pesos each year for local government and community initiatives to fight climate change. We have enacted a Renewable Energy law and a Green Jobs Act," she added.

Legarda also pledged to "do more."

"We are developing policies on carbon pricing and green banking. We intend to impose a tax on coal. And we are greening our hospitals," she said.

The countries agreed to "develop collective targets prescribing the contribution of sustainable bioenergy to final energy demand and as a percentage of transport fuel use", their joint Biofuture Platform initiative in a statement.

Bioenergy can be generated by burning wood, wood pellets or crop waste such as bagasse from sugar production.

The group would also seek to expand what they called the "bioeconomy", or all economic activity related to the use of plants in the production of renewable energy, materials and chemicals.

"The technology and awareness of the need for bio-based solutions are finally coming together," Brazilian Environment Minister Jose Sarney Filho said in a statement.

Environmental groups often criticise the use of trees and other plant matter in energy production, saying it can lead to the diversion of land use from food crops and destruction of natural habitats.

The 19 represent half the world's population and 37 percent of the global economy. The Paris agreement sets a goal of limiting a rise in temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times. — Reuters with Bernadette Parco, GMA News