Seminar Series on
Energy and Environment in Southeast Asia
Daikin Industries ✕ CSEAS Kyoto University Joint Research Project
1^st Seminar

Date & Time: December 14, 2022  16:00-17:30 (JST)
Venue: Online Zoom
Language: English

— 1st Presentation
Title: Retiring coal-fired power in the Philippines: Implications for emissions reductions, grid stability and geography
Speaker: Julie Ann de los Reyes (CSEAS)

— 2nd Presentation
Title: Keeping cool in Metro Manila: changing social practices during the pandemic
Speaker: Marlyne Sahakian (University of Geneva)

Discussant: Jutae Hong (Daikin Industries)

All times are shown based on the Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00).

1^st Presentation:
Retiring coal-fired power in the Philippines:
Implications for emissions reductions,grid stability and geography

Julie Ann de los Reyes (Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University)

Phasing-out coal-fired power will require curtailing both planned and currently operating coal capacity. While coal projects have markedly declined in recent years, including in emerging economies, the early retirement of existing power plants will need to be accelerated to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. In this paper, we examine the complexities of power plant retirement in a developing country context through a case study of the Philippine energy system. The Philippines has one of the highest share of coal in its power mix in Southeast Asia and is also a pilot country for coal-fired power retirement under the Energy Transition Mechanism. Building on official data and publicly-available energy datasets, supplemented by interviews with key energy players and stakeholders, we examine the particularities of the Philippine coal fleet (in terms of technology, grid connections, carbon emissions) and the implications of retirement to CO2 emissions and grid stability in an archipelagic setting. Our findings suggest that while early retirement could significantly reduce emissions, it is complicated by cost and grid considerations given the relatively young age and high share of coal units, particularly sub-critical pulverised units, in power generation relative to other technologies. Retirement is also made especially challenging since most of the country’s coal units are geographically concentrated in the Luzon power grid which powers the capital. These findings hold significance for planning the pace and scale of the retirement process, in ways that factor in the geographical differences of target countries to mitigate its potentially uneven impacts.

2^nd Presentation:
Keeping cool in Metro Manila: changing social practices during the pandemic

Marlyne Sahakian (Sociology Department, University of Geneva)

How people go about keeping cool in Southeast Asia has evolved over time, involving changes to technologies, and building infrastructures, but more significantly, changes around what it means to be comfortable and keep cool in cities. Practices related to keeping cool are diverse, from the work of work to staying fashionable or sleeping comfortably. Based on previous research on cooling in Metro Manila that engaged with a social practice theoretical understanding of social life, I will discuss how cooling practices changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. While new meanings and competencies may have emerged, it is more likely that existing practices were given more space because of the constraints due to lock-down measures.

Event organizers: Masaaki Okamoto, Satoru Kobayashi (CSEAS),
Hiroshi Aihara (Daikin Industries), Chika Yamada (CSEAS)

Contact: Chika Yamada (CSEAS) chika128[at]cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp