Manila: The United Kingdom government has launched its flagship program Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) in the Philippines, with an initial £700,000 or PHP54 million funding to help the country advance its shift to clean energy.

According to Philippines News Agency, UK PACT’s Philippine portfolio will directly support the government and industries in building capacities, tools, and policies to de-risk investment and advance scalable renewable energy (RE) solutions in the country. British Ambassador to the Philippines Sarah Hulton OBE highlighted that this initiative marks a significant step in the UK-Philippines climate collaboration, with plans to continue into the next financial year to build on existing progress and identify new cooperation areas.

Through this partnership, the UK will provide support to the Philippines through expertise, financing, and advocacy. In its initial year, UK PACT will focus on four key interventions, including updating the pricing model for offshore wind projects for the Green Energy Auction Program in the Philippines. The other interventions will concentrate on developing a tool for electric power system cost simulation, advancing national marine spatial planning with offshore wind use cases, and accelerating micro-grid deployment by supporting data collection for unserved and underserved areas.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Raphael Lotilla emphasized that the partnership demonstrates the possibility of achieving both energy security and environmental protection. The UK Embassy in Manila stated that this year’s focus aligns with the Philippines’ commitment to reduce and avoid greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent, and aims to have a 35 percent RE share in the power generation mix by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

The program has an indicative funding of £1.2 million to £1.4 million (about PHP93 million to PHP108 million) for the next fiscal year, with plans to develop the carbon market. Representatives from the Department of Energy, Energy Regulatory Commission, and DENR, alongside other key agencies, welcomed the initiative, noting its potential to catalyze change in the country’s energy landscape.