Green Convergence (GC) convened the 425th session of the Kamayan Para Sa Kalikasan forum themed “Just Climate Transition: Should it include Nuclear & WTE?” on November 21 via Zoom and Facebook livestream. The November forum was supported by JRS Express.
With stronger calls for the phase out of fossil fuels in the recently concluded Conference of Parties (COP 30) held in Belém, Brazil, GC President Victoria Segovia noted in her opening remarks that national leaders in the Philippines are now promoting the use of waste-to-energy (WTE) and nuclear technologies as alternatives.
Segovia however questioned these steps that the Philippine government is taking. “Is this toward the sustainable development of the Philippines?”
Jumping on this premise, Gerry Arances, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, challenged the framing of the country’s transition.
“Just transition ?” he asked, stressing that communities already suffering the worst impacts of the climate crisis must be the priority.
Arances noted that, despite 15 years under the Renewable Energy Act, the country’s renewable energy (RE) share increased only from 34% to 35%, while coal now accounts for 62% of the power mix—one of the highest in the world.
Even with this, there are no concrete steps for a fossil fuel phaseout.
However, he said that approved RE capacity is already enough to power the country forward. The Green Energy Auctions awarded 21 to 22 gigawatts of new RE, representing more than 60% of the nation’s existing installed capacity.
If these are implemented as planned, Arances argued that there is no need for new fossil fuel plants, nuclear power, or WTE.
“We already have enough renewable energy in the pipeline for the next decade,” he said. “We do not need WTE. We do not need nuclear.”
Engr. Alberto Dalusung III, Energy Transition Advisor at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, delved deeper into an evidence-based analysis of nuclear power based on grid limitations, economic realities, and global trends.
He explained that the Philippines has the smallest grid among Southeast Asian countries. In the Philippines, the largest single generating unit in Luzon is under 700 megawatts (MW), and smaller units operate in Visayas and Mindanao.
Given these numbers, Dalusung explained that installing a 1,000-MW nuclear reactor, which is the smallest commercially available size, would overwhelm the Philippine grid and would require massive reserve capacity that the system currently cannot handle.
He also rejected the argument that the country needs more baseload, stressing that the real problem is an oversupply of coal and gas plants that are forced to ramp up and down, damaging equipment and causing outages.
In the open forum, he added that solar is variable and predictable, unlike the argued “stable” baseload plants that frequently trip.
On costs, Dalusung cited international data showing nuclear as one of the most expensive technologies, which entails that it would be even more expensive in the Philippines due to seismic upgrades and absent nuclear infrastructure.
Addressing whether small modular reactors (SMRs) would be the appropriate nuclear technology for the country, he said that SMRs remain experimental, with only two commercially operating worldwide.
On considering WTE technologies in the Philippines, Sonia Mendoza, Chairperson of Mother Earth Foundation, warned that WTE incineration actually worsens both the waste and climate crises despite being marketed as a modern solution.
She said that all thermal WTE processes—from combustion to pyrolysis—emit greenhouse gases (GHGs).
Studies show WTE facilities generate 1.7 times more GHGs per MWh than coal, and even more than oil and natural gas.
Mendoza added that WTE facilities undermine waste reduction, as they depend on a constant waste supply and often involve “put-or-pay” contracts that penalize local governments for failing to meet requirements on the amount of garbage.
Despite claims of reducing landfill use, WTE produces toxic ash requiring engineered landfills, and releases dioxins linked to cancer and reproductive harm.
She also raised legal questions, pointing out that WTE contradicts the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. In a global context, the European Union has withdrawn funding support for incineration due to its climate impacts.
Reactors from government agencies, Engr. Regina Paula Eugenio from the Environmental Impact Assessment and Management Division of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Environmental Management Bureau, Shiela Dela Cruz, the Officer-in-Charge and Chief of the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Division, and Engr. Gemmalyn Galang, Science Research Specialist from the Department of Energy Biomass Energy Management Bureau, addressed the issues raised by the plenary speakers.
They acknowledged concerns, but urged “open-mindedness” as government agencies assess nuclear and WTE in the national energy mix.
They also cited ongoing work on nuclear regulatory frameworks, radioactive waste planning, grid studies, public consultations, and coordination with both local and international counterparts.
However, Patria Gwen Borcena, Environmental Sociologist and Executive Director of Greenresearch Environmental Research Group Inc., underscored the longstanding civil society opposition to these technologies—from a recent statement signed by 38 organizations to pastoral letters from church leaders.
She also questioned the government’s claim of inclusivity in the transition process given the aforementioned strong opposition.
Borcena punctuated the forum, “. in the future. , monstrous WTE nuclear?”
As shown in the plenary and panel exchange, while government agencies express openness to nuclear and WTE, civil society organizations (CSOs) maintain that just transition must reject dangerous, costly, and polluting technologies and accelerate the RE transition already within reach.
Wrapping up the forum, Dr. Angelina Galang, Founding Trustee of GC and Program Director of the Movement, firmly stated in her closing remarks that nuclear and WTE are false solutions to the climate change emergency.
“If we go to these technologies when we ever have so much blessings from the Lord, we are shooting ourselves in the foot, in the mouth, and in the head … We’re already vulnerable to natural hazards. We will exacerbate our vulnerability by these technologies,” Dr. Galang expressed.
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