Monday, 21 November 2016
With energy security being a persistent programmatic thrust of Socdem Asia, the network brought together members of political parties, think tanks, civil society organizations, diplomatic community, and government officials from Indonesia, Malaysia, Germany and the Philippines in a dialogue about shifting to more renewable sources of energy. The conference which was held earlier this November was housed in Discovery Primea, Makati Philippines. It was made possible through the cooperation of Socdem Asia, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Active Citizenship Foundation.
The conference sought to weigh-in lessons from national and international experiences that will help inform a progressive energy security agenda. It also aimed to identify strategies and ways forward to push for more policies that enhance regional capacities to pursue sustainable energy options and venues to further cooperation at the regional, country and local levels.
The keynote speaker of the activity was the advisor to the Minister for Environment and Economy of Germany, Dr. Felix Matthes. He talked about emerging concepts and trends in the energy sector and the politics behind them. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the senate committee chairperson on energy also graced the conference to converse about government thrusts on pursuing a more sustainable energy mix in the country. A diverse set of speakers- advocates, practitioners, bureaucrats, government officials and members of the private sector talked about a plethora of issues ranging from lessons from implementing local renewable energy programs, the progressive energy security narrative, to busting the nuclear myth.