ZERO-EMISSION electric tricycles (e-trikes) shared the limelight at the recently concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministerial Meetings on Boracay, providing a tangible symbol of the Philippines’s commitment to efforts to reverse the harmful effects of climate change.
Delegates to the meetings held in May, including trade ministers and senior officials from 21 Apec economies, were ferried around the island-resort by EMotors Inc.’s ZUM e-trikes.
“It was a powerful symbol, one that complemented one of Apec’s most important concerns,” said Elizabeth Lee, Emotors president.
The Boracay meetings kicked off with a workshop on climate change, a topic that has been high on Apec’s agenda because of its impact on the world’s economies, big and small.
Experts believe climate change is causing extreme-weather events, such as Typhoon Yolanda, that are damaging and depleting natural resources, affecting livelihoods and food security.
Last year’s Apec summit in Beijing closed with a historic agreement between China and the United States to curb carbon emissions as a way to spur nations around the world to make their own cuts in greenhouse gases.
“The ZUM e-trikes deliver a key message about the country: We are concerned about the environment and climate change,” said Guillermo Luz, cochairman of the National Competitiveness Council.
EMotors, a company led by former Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines President Elizabeth Lee, has been rolling out e-trikes since it was incorporated in 2012.
These e-trikes have zero carbon emissions and run on batteries that can last up to two years.
The goal has been to cut the volume of carbon emissions that the Philippines’s 3.5 million tricycles spew each year.
Luz said the e-trikes, as a product of a nascent industry riding on the efforts of start-ups like EMotors, are also making the case for small industries.
Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo, who heads the Trade Ministerial Meeting, placed at the center of discussions the significance of micro, small and medium enterprises as the key to future growth that will benefit and strengthen ties among the Apec community of nations.
“We support the initiatives of Secretary Domingo. We are honored to be part of the solution not only to lower carbon emissions but to provide a profitable means of livelihood for many Filipino entrepreneurs using our ZUM e-trikes,” Lee said.