The United Kingdom and the Philippines have celebrated a significant milestone in their climate partnership with the official launch of the Philippines Country Fund under the UK’s Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) programme. The new fund will provide targeted technical assistance and capacity-building to support the Philippines in accelerating its transition to a low-carbon economy, with a critical focus on the energy sector.
The Philippines-UK PACT Country Fund’s initial year is strategically aligned with the Philippines’ ambitious climate goals, including its commitment to reduce and avoid 75% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. It also directly supports the Philippine Energy Plan’s renewable energy (RE) targets of achieving a 35% share in the power generation mix by 2030, 50% by 2040, and RE domination by 2050.
The Fund is currently delivering four strategic interventions:
Offshore Wind Development: Enhancing the national green energy auction system through an offshore wind pricing model update and an infrastructure and developer readiness assessment to strengthen planning and evaluation of future offshore wind auctions.
Sustainable Marine Planning: Implementing marine spatial planning for offshore wind to create robust, multi-sector planning frameworks that ensure sustainable development.
Data-Driven Energy Planning: Developing an electric power system cost simulation tool to enable cost-effective, data-driven energy planning.
Energy Access and Inclusion: Accelerating micro-grid deployment in unserved and underserved areas to expand energy access and drive inclusive economic growth.
The launch event brought together key stakeholders from government, academia, the private sector, and development partners to align on objectives and explore collaborations.
British Ambassador to the Philippines, Sarah Hulton OBE, highlighted the broader benefits of the partnership:
“A diversified renewables-driven power sector not only cuts emissions, but it also provides a transformative opportunity to lower costs, strengthen resilience, and open new pathways for sustainable industries and employment.”
The initiative was warmly welcomed by Philippine government agencies. DENR Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla underscored the value of the technical exchange, particularly for environmental protection:
“Climate-informed marine spatial planning becomes even more important. This is why our partnership with the UK under UK PACT is so valuable… Our partnership shows that we do not need to choose between energy security and environmental protection. We can and must achieve both.”
ERC Chairperson Francis Saturnino C. Juan emphasized the transfer of crucial UK expertise: “We are not just partnering with a funder; we are partnering with the global pioneer of offshore wind… Through the UK PACT programme, you are transferring that deep institutional knowledge directly to our young Filipino engineers… You are helping us bridge the gap between our youthful ambition and the hard-won wisdom of a mature market.”
The Department of Energy’s commitment was reaffirmed by Paolo G. Fondevilla, Director of IT and Management Services, who stated: “It is encouraging to see that our two countries jointly commit to forging national energy security while sourcing the same from clean and sustainable energy sources.”
