Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28) — The United Kingdom (UK) has expressed support for the country’s shift to renewable energy, a British official said.
Richard Graham, the UK prime minister’s trade envoy to the Philippines who recently concluded his official visit, noted that talks on renewable energy are in the early stages.
“That’s one of my great, sort of, obsessions really because we’ve gone from 7% to 43% renewable energy in the UK since 2010. I think the Philippines is somewhere around 15 to 18%, maybe as much as 20% renewable at the moment. With quite a lot of geothermal and hydro [hydrothermal],” Graham told reporters on Thursday.
“We see a huge opportunity here for the Philippines to benefit from offshore wind the same as we have. Also, both of us can probably do more on solar and you have more sun than we have. So, the opportunity is probably bigger for you,” he added.
Graham said the UK can also share technical expertise on sourcing energy from tidal streams.
Tidal energy is a form of renewable energy from the natural rise and fall of ocean tides and currents.
“I’ll hope over the next two years, we’ll see real progress in terms of getting the structure and maybe looking at more detail and particularly on the connectivity to the grid and how your grid system will be able to accommodate this,” the trade envoy said.
Graham also said there is potential in the aviation sector to generate more jobs for Filipinos.
“Manila international airport has basically been full for quite a long time. Lots more flights, lots more airlines would love to come in. And Manila at the moment is still the main point for people transiting on to the islands for holidays and so on,” Graham said.
