TOL VIEWS

The globally shared issue on climate change and humanity’s attempts to mitigate its impact have radically altered the ways by which people, goods and information travel. From the ancient tools for travelling to the more modernized vehicles of the contemporary world, transportation indeed plays a pivotal role in driving development and growth. While climate change is, sadly, irreversible, the birth of electric vehicles (EV) gave birth as well to a deeper understanding and appreciation of how cleaner power sources to fuel transportation, land travel in particular, can help in reducing the threat of global warming. The use of electricity instead of  fuel to power up vehicles is generally viewed to be a cleaner technology. Carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels remains at the top of factors that contribute to climate change. The increased demand for more transportation tools driven by a rapidly increasing population and hence, the need to meet the diverse needs of this growing populace resulted to more and more vehicles on the road, silently choking us and our earth to death. The production of electric vehicles is a stable industry in more affluent countries as Europe, the United States, China and Japan. In Southeast Asia, electric powered vehicles are widely accepted in Singapore and Thailand. In the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, however, fossil fuelled vehicles remain preferred over rechargeable EVs. While this technology is surely the better option, a lack of deeper understanding of its benefits blocks greater appreciation of EVs’ critical role in our common pursuit for climate change mitigation and ecological preservation. The Department of Energy estimates a growth both in numbers and in support for the use of EVs. Some 2.45 million electric vehicles are expected to be on the road by the end of President Bongbong Marcos’ term in 2028, alongside the establishment of 65,000 charging stations across the nation. Recognizing the gains that may be derived from using EVs, the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA) or RA 11697 passed on May 2022 carved a clearer path for the electric vehicle industry in the Philippines. The suspension of tariffs for imported electric vehicles and the reduced tariffs on hybrid vehicles resulted in increased public interest and positive perception on EVs. The stability and sustainability of the EV industry in the Philippines, we have yet to determine, but we remain with high hopes. Of course, creating awareness and generating support for this novel technology is equally important. If our goal is to end our age-old dependence on petroleum products to fuels and steer the Philippine economic engine, then there is much hope in the EV option.