AUSTRALIA will support the Philippines’ renewable energy development, carbon market, and offshore wind industry through a P2-billion economic development grant over five years.
“This is a program that has been developed jointly by the Australian government and the Philippine government to deliver better economic outcomes to boost infrastructure and to improve living standards in communities throughout the Philippines,” Australian Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Matt Thistlethwaite told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday.
Thistlethwaite said that renewable energy, the establishment of a carbon market, and the development of the offshore wind industry were among the priority areas discussed with Philippine government officials under the Promoting Growth, Resilience, Economic Stability and Sustainability in the Philippines (Progress) program.
“We haven’t allocated funding to specific projects yet. We’re very much in the scoping phase,” he said.
Thistlethwaite said the Australian government has already allocated the AU$45 million or P2 billion for the program, but individual projects will still have to be identified and approved through a partnership between the two countries.
“That will rely on the requests from the Philippine government. This project is very much about providing support for the Philippines government to deliver on their priorities,” he said.
Australia has appointed Boston Consulting Group as a partner that will work with Philippine government departments to develop the details of the projects and funding commitments over the five-year period.
Thistlethwaite clarified that the grant should not be viewed as a single disbursement for already identified projects.
“The individual projects will be determined by the Australian government in partnership with the Filipino government and the government departments,” he said.
As projects are approved, Australia and the Philippines will announce them jointly.
“At the moment, the funding has been allocated from the Australian Government. It’s now up to us to work together on providing that funding to individual projects,” Thistlethwaite said.
