The Philippine Biodiesel Association (TPBA) joined Congress’ call for the long-delayed increase in the biodiesel blend to 5 percent (B5) as mandated by the Biofuels Act of 2006.
"Congress sees the immediate and long term impact of a higher biodiesel mandate. The immediate benefits come with practically no additional investment in capex or infrastructure,” said TPBA President Dean A. Lao, Jr.
He noted that, “CME (coco methyl ester or coco-biodiesel) is in abundance and the coconut industry has been advocating this higher mandate since 2009.”
“It only takes the National Biofuels Board to convene and make the decision. Biofuels have been part of the Philippine Energy Plan all along. The time to act is now so the benefits can be enjoyed by Filipinos now," Lao said.
The National Biofuels Board is set to meet on Feb. 18 to discuss calls for an increase in the biodiesel blend from 2 percent coco methyl ester content to 5 percent.
Department of Energy director Rino Abad said the NBB meeting will ensure there is enough coconut supply to meet the increase in demand with the implementation of a higher blend.
He added that, there is no decision yet on increasing the blend and that they were still waiting for the rules from the Philippine Coconut Authority as well as for the results from the Renewable Energy Management Bureau on the road test for biodiesel “which will hopefully show the savings.”
Rep. Juan Miguel M. Arroyo, the Chairman of both the Joint Congressional Energy Commission and House Commission on Energy is pushing for raising the coco biodiesel content of diesel fuel to 5 percent, as mandated by law.
“In 2006, the 13th Congress passed RA 9367. President Arroyo concurred with our lawmakers that coco biodiesel addressed a multitude of problems on so many levels that delaying its implementation any further now is a great disservice to the Filipino,” Arroyo said in a statement.
He noted that, “Our leaders back then even had the foresight to protect the environment even before climate change became a thing.” “Coco biodiesel helps our farmers, bolsters the economy, and even reduces air pollution that kills or debilitates so many of our people,” said Arroyo.
By mandating B2 blend biodiesel for transportation, the Philippines has already reduced its carbon footprint by 16.31 percent, or 0.0125 kg CO2E per liter, versus B0 fossil fuel diesel.
“With over the 8.8 billion liters of biodiesel used by vehicles in 2021,we have already reduced our carbon footprint by 4.6 million tons (MtCO2E),” he added.
Arroyo said that, “If we could use B5 throughout 2022, we would have further reduced our carbon footprint by another 588 thousand tons, on top of the 4.8 million tons CO2E for the year if we remained on B2.” If the Philippines started in 2022, a yearly ramp-up from B3 to B4 to B5 would further reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 2030 by a total of 6.5 million tons CO2E.
“Simply by ramping up to B5, we would achieve 14 percent of the energy sector’s 45.9 MtCO2E target under the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC),in accordance with the Paris Agreement,” said Arroyo.
A reduction of 6.5 million tons of carbon dioxide over the next nine years mean translates to an additional 3.1 billion liters of B100 CME sold, equivalent to an additional P186 billion to GDP.
For the farmers, it means an additional 21.7 billion coconuts harvested and sold. On average, that amounts to over 1.9 billion additional coconuts per year until 2030, or up to 2.3 times more income to the farmers in a year, compared to now, not even factoring the rise in coconut prices due to the increased demand.
For the jeepney and truck drivers, B5 allows them to drive 6 percent further in average traffic,compared to B2. This increased mileage somewhat offsets the increase in fuel prices due to the shift to B5, but the cleaner burn also helps declog diesel engines and fuel lines, and decreases maintenance costs.
“For each of us 110 million Filipinos, it means the air we breathe is up to 6.6 kilograms CO2E cleaner each year by 2030. Simply shifting from B2 to B5 reduces particulate matter from 1.47 percent to 3.14 percent, more than double the PM reduction just by using the higher biodiesel blend,” said Arroyo.
Research by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Citiesfinds that approximately 66,000 premature deaths every year are linked to PM2.5 and NO2 pollution in the country.
“We thus need every tool at our disposal to protect our people from the ravages of heart disease and stroke due to polluted air. Transitioning to B5 as soon as possible helps reduce these preventable deaths,” he said.
Arroyo stressed that, “With environmental, economic, and health benefits for the country and ordinary Filipinos alike, it’s time we start pumping B5 biodiesel into our jeepneys and trucks.”