Marcos woos investors at Asia Zero Emission Community meeting
TOKYO, Japan—President Marcos wooed Asian countries and Japan to invest in the Philippines, stressing that the country needs more of it.

During his intervention at the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) on Monday, Dec. 18, Marcos invited AZEC partners to invest in several sectors in the Philippines.
"I would also like to speak of the added interest in partnerships with the Philippines and we need the partnerships that we have, and to add to them as well," Marcos said.
"So, I would like to invite our AZEC partners, including Japan, to invest not only in the Philippine renewable energy industry, but also in other emerging technologies and introduce energy efficiency and conservation measures," he added.
The President noted that investors in the Philippines can now avail themselves of the simplified rules for building renewable energy facilities as well as additional incentives, such as income tax holidays and duty-free importation of capital equipment.
He invited them to invest in the country as he emphasized the shift to clean energy and introduction of energy efficiency and conservation measures.
He said the Philippines is joining its AZEC partners in recognizing the need to accelerate a clean, sustainable, just, affordable and inclusive energy transition towards carbon neutrality, or net-zero emissions.
AZEC is a platform for Asian countries that promote the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission while supporting sound economic growth.
The Chief Executive also said the Philippine government has also set in place targets to increase the share of renewable energy in the power generation mix by 35 percent in 2030 and 50 percent by 2040, which would result in 3.3 billion tons of avoided GHG emissions over the 2023-2050 planning horizon.
“To achieve this, we have eased foreign ownership restrictions for renewable energy projects. The development of renewable energy sources in the Philippines is now open to 100 percent foreign ownership,” Marcos said.
The Chief Executive also said the collaborative efforts among AZEC leaders will speed up global transition to inclusive energy as he stressed the importance of promoting clean energy for a sustainable future around the world.
“We welcome this timely initiative to tackle climate change as a common global challenge and advance cooperation towards carbon neutrality (and) net-zero emissions while ensuring energy security," Marcos said.
He further said that the gathering is "very timely" given the recent COP28 in Dubai, adding that "I am confident that this initiative will contribute to the global acceleration of an inclusive energy transition.