“DBP has stopped financing coal power plants after year 2016 upon knowing that there is already ample supply of baseload power plants. This action was eventually formalized into a Board approved policy in September 2018 putting power generation from non- renewable energy in the negative list of borrowers and loan purposes,” said DBP in a self-assessment report to the UNEP.
READ: Dirty money! BPI, PNB top list of coal financiers
As of December 2020, DBP has loaned out P32.077 billion or 7.51 percent of its loan portfolio to power generation projects. Of this amount, P13.645 billion or 43 percent was funneled to conventional energy projects with the balance to renewable energy plants.
“The Bank recognized that power generation from conventional sources was generating high environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emission, air pollution, water pollution, and wastes,” said DBP.
READ: BPI heeds Church’s plea, to cut coal-fired power project financing by 50%
It explained that it was only compelled to bankroll coal-fired plant projects due to the power crisis from 2013 to 2016 brought about by El Niño.
The Church-backed watchdog Withdraw from Coal has tagged Bank of the Philippine Islands and Philippine National Bank as the biggest financial backers of coal-power plants in the country.
