A BUSINESS leader rallied energy stakeholders to help and support each other amid economic shocks from global conflicts.
“The climate crisis will not pause while we deliberate. The competition for critical minerals, clean technology and energy influence is under way. But I stand before you today with conviction, the Philippines can win these challenges,” PCCI President Ferdinand Ferrer said at its Energy Summit held in Makati.
The country has the resources, and Filipinos have rebuilt from typhoons, innovated in the face of adversity, and never accepted that the odds against us are final, Ferrer pointed out, saying that the times call for political, institutional and collective will to act with decisiveness.
He suggested a business strategy based on three pillars:
— Accelerating the development of the country’s indigenous energy resources.
— Modernizing energy infrastructure.
— Building strategic partnerships with various groups without surrendering autonomy.
Ferrer said that the world’s energy order is fracturing with geopolitical rivalries, climate disruptions and supply chain problems, and that the country is not a spectator in these disruptions.
“We are squarely in [their] path,” Ferrer said, adding that it is not enough to endure high prices and unreliable supply, and hope that things stabilize in our favor.
“The decisions we make in the next five years will echo across the next 50. The investments we commit to today will determine whether our children inherit an energy-secure Philippines, or [one] still searching for answers,” he said.
