LOPEZ GROUP
The Lopez Group has been at the forefront of efforts geared toward climate change adaption, slamming its doors on coal-fired power plants years ago.
In 2012, it established the Oscar M. Lopez Center to support science and technology needed for building resilient communities.
PHILIPPINE STAR: What has your group done for nation-building?
LOPEZ GROUP CHAIRMAN OSCAR LOPEZ: It is our responsibility, each and every one of us, to protect our environment from further harm – and also to protect ourselves from the harm that we have already wrought upon our environment. For in abusing our environment, we have made ourselves vulnerable to that undesirable abuse.
The Philippines has long been prone to extreme weather events, an unavoidable consequence of our geographic location.
It’s become clear, however, that our vulnerability to climate hazards is now being driven by factors other than just our place on the map.
Over roughly the last half century, human-induced climate change has grown into a prominent threat, putting our ecosystems, livelihoods, and development prospects in jeopardy.
Climate science in the Philippines is still in its infancy. Though we have a well-trained cadre of researchers, we also have one of the lowest investments in research on a per capita basis when compared to the region’s other fast-developing nations.
That’s not to say that there aren’t efforts underway to address climate risks on the ground. In fact, billions of pesos have been allocated over the years by private groups, foreign donors, and the government to build the resilience of our communities. Yet there’s much less attention directed at the generation of scientific information – the knowledge that we require first to fully comprehend the climate problem, and then to bring about the innovative, sustainable, and evidence-based solutions we need.
It is important to help the Filipino build natural resilience to adversity by harnessing science to produce knowledge that leads to action.
FIRST PHILIPPINE HOLDINGS CHAIRMAN AND CEO FEDERICO LOPEZ:
At First Philippine Holdings (FPH), we believe our platform of businesses and our way-to-play are all geared toward reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.
Our natural gas plants are key to bringing down the carbon intensity of the economy as they emit less than half of the carbon and only a fraction of the other pollutants per kilowatt-hour relative to an equivalent-sized coal plant.
This is key to keeping the economy humming and our lights on, even as we transition to a decarbonized world. Today, these plants run on the country’s only indigenous gas field, Camago-Malampaya. We are currently preparing for the day these fields no longer have indigenous gas through the development of what could be the country’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.
Our decision several years ago to slam the door on developing any coal-fired power for ourselves was prescient – even as more coalfired capacity comes on line globally, their utilization and capacity factors are falling.
Our world today teems with change and disruption. At FPH, we’re all incessantly and purposefully “sensing the wind” and “reading the tea leaves.” And in such a world marked by so much complexity, we must also keep our organizations alert, as well as agile.
But let me just say that real and lasting shareholder value can only be had when we place the interests of all our stakeholders, our customers, the planet, and humanity at the center of everything we do.
The world’s paradigms are shifting yet again and, as a company, we intend to help that shift in the best way we can. It is among these great challenges where we intend to build the many great opportunities that will foster true shareholder value.