EVEN if the Philippines reduces its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 75 percent, the country will still fail to meet its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) as well as net-zero targets, according to the World Bank.
In a Country Climate and Development report for the Philippine transport sector, the World Bank said the only way to meet these targets “is to completely decarbonize” the transport sector.
This means converting all land transport to electric vehicles (EVs) and using 100 percent renewable energy in power generation or biofuels for non-EVs.
“Full implementation of the accelerated decarbonization measures will lower GHG emissions from the transport sector, but it will not enable the transport sector to achieve its NDC target, more so achieve net zero emissions,” the report stated.
In order to address this problem, the World Bank recommended that the government implement a more ambitious program to promote low carbon transport nationwide.
This new program should include high-capacity public transport and Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) as well as expanding mass transit systems in Metro Manila and provincial capitals.
The World Bank also recommended that the government implement the broad electrification of public transport sector; encourage greener transport modes including rails for both passenger and freight transport; and embrace compact city development to avoid high motorization and sprawl growing path.
“Given the relatively low motorization rate and rapid urbanization at the same time, the country has a good window of opportunity to pursue sustainable low-carbon transport development,” the report stated.
Efforts to ensure the successful implementation of low transport programs is crucial since the World Bank said the “current program has been slow with the majority of the program partially implemented.”
The World Bank said one of the major reasons for this is that planned activities have not all received sufficient budgets. Another issue is overlapping mandates among government institutions on transportation interventions.
To address these, the Washington-based lender said the national transport master plan should be used to guide these efforts. As such, it should also be updated alongside the Philippine Development Plan.
The government should also improve interagency and intra-government coordination through legislation as well as the institutionalization of project
management offices instead of hiring contract-based workers.
Efforts to strengthen the monitoring, evaluation, and reporting as well as verification of the progress and impact of low transport programs should be undertaken.
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