Key Points

The Philippines set the target of increasing the share of renewable energy in its energy mix from 16.9% in 2019 to 26.9% by 2030 . This ambitious target requires significant additional investment in renewable energy. It has been estimated that the Philippines could attract USD 20 billion in renewable energy investment through auctions between 2020 and 2030. To achieve this, the investment climate for renewables needs to be improved. Over the last few years, other ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand have been viewed as more attractive markets by foreign investors. While the Philippines attracted USD 1 billion of investment in renewables in 2016, it experienced a significant investment decline to USD 0.3 million in 2017 and USD 0.16 million in 2018. By contrast, Vietnam received USD 5.2 billion of investment in 2018 alone.

The Philippines has capacity gaps for governing renewable energy. It is ranked 87 out of 156 countries in the Index of Geopolitical Gains and Losses after energy transition (GeGaLo Index) and thus needs to strengthen its capacity for renewable energy governance .With this background in mind, we propose five actions that can improve the attractiveness of Philippines’ investment climate for renewable energy and help it join the regional race for investment.

Action plan to attract investment in renewable energy in the Philippines

• Prioritise renewables in the energy governance system
• Enforce existing regulatory and fiscal policies
• Raise the targets and develop an investment roadmap
• Facilitate market entry for renewable energy investors
• Build capacity for renewable energy governance