Knowledge exchange from island to island

Philippine government officials visited Germany to get a deeper insight into the German “Energiewende” and the country’s renewable energy integration.

A delegation of Philippine government officials came to Germany in June 2017 to study the country’s transition towards a more climate friendly energy supply. Earlier this year the German Environment Ministry (BMUB) already announced its plan to commit about 30 Million euros more for projects on climate protection and biodiversity conservation in the Philippines. During the stay, the delegation visited Berlin and Hamburg as well as the island of Pellworm to learn from experiences Germany makes with its Energiewende and the integration of renewable energy into the power system.

The German Energiewende (=energy transition) aims to significantly increase the share of renewable energy in the energy mix and to reduce energy consumption through energy efficiency measures.

The Philippine delegation was led by Alfonso Cusi (Secretary in the Department of Energy) and composed of key energy policy decision-makers. The group had bilateral meetings with Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary of the German Environment Ministry (BMUB) and exchanged with different stakeholders of the German energy transition, including the Federal Network Agency, the transmission system operator 50Hertz, and the innovative power utility Lichtblick.´

One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the German island of Pellworm, which is powered entirely by renewable energy. During this tour, participants exchanged experiences “from island to island” and discussed the opportunities of renewable energy and storage systems for the electrification of remote islands in the Philippines.

The study visit was organized by invitation of the BMUB through the project ‘Support to the Philippines in Shaping and Implementing the International Climate Regime (SupportCCC II)’, which is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and funded under the International Climate Initiative (IKI). SupportCCC aims to strengthen the Philippines’ Climate Change Commission and other key actors in implementing and coordinating the national climate change regime. Apart from that, the project organizes exchange of knowledge and project experiences as well as the enhancement of cooperation and coordination arrangements for IKI projects in the Philippines.