What arrived on April 22 was no hero who descended from the sky, nor was it a god that could expose all companies guilty of greenwashing (unfortunately). It was hope—a sliver of it, produced by people who demanded change and renewed their commitment to our only home.
Earth Day 2025 has urged triple renewable energy generation by 2030 as it was celebrated under the theme “Our Power, Our Planet.”
As the “largest environmental movement” seeking to mobilize global stakeholders, including the average citizen, this celebration calls the need for the Earth’s inhabitants to be eco-friendly.
"Grassroots people-power has always been at the heart of Earth Day. It is the catalyst for paradigm-shifting change because when individuals unite with a common purpose, they can overcome even the most entrenched systems and industries," said organizer Earthday.org.
This year's event focused on "the solutions we need to create clean, inexpensive, and unlimited energy for the entire planet," which can be achieved through renewable solar, wind, and other technologies.
"We are calling for renewable energy generation, globally, to be tripled by 2030. The production and use of renewable energy transcends economic systems, political borders, and political parties, demonstrating a universal appeal," the organization stressed.
Renewable energy is the future
In the recent celebration, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) launched an event raising awareness about the threats to endangered species. The youth joined in eco-related games and art activities challenging their understanding of planetary issues.
“The social and economic cost of clean energy must be accompanied by just transition. It must also be accompanied by the responsible and sustainable use of critical energy transition minerals,” said DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga.
Meanwhile, various progressive groups and communities in the country convened to push for its transition from dirty fossil fuels to RE.
Among those were Protect Verde Island Passage, Power for People Coalition, fisherfolk, the church, and the masses pestered by fossil fuel activities. Demonstrations were held across Metro Manila, Batangas City, Cebu City, Oriental Mindoro, Ormoc City, and Misamis Oriental.
Advocates called out companies' fossil fuel dependence for power generation and distribution, stressing that it's a major factor aggravating climate change and driving up electricity prices.
A peek at the power scene
In the latest report by International Energy Agency (IEA), coal accounted for some 62 percent of PH’s power generation mix in 2024. This, even with the government’s ban on new coal-fired power plants in 2020.
“Diversification of energy sources is critical to energy security. Unfortunately, we get pilloried for favoring solar and wind over coal and get charged for favoring coal over renewable energy,” said Department of Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla in a statement.
“Our new Philippine Energy Plan embodies the transformative direction towards attaining these goals. Among these is prioritizing the utilization of our country's indigenous energy sources, such as offshore wind and floating solar in our renewable energy portfolio, including adopting electric vehicles,” he added.
In 2023, only 22 percent of PH’s electricity came from RE, energy think tank Ember in London said in a report. This figure didn’t meet the global average.
By 2030, the country then seeks to have increased the RE share in the power mix to 35 percent. But IEA said this is still below the global share of 60 percent renewable electricity stated in the agency’s scenario of Net Zero Emissions.
Last year, the world sourced 32 percent of its electricity from renewables, according to Ember