Senator Win Gatchalian wants to look into the current state of the country’s upstream oil and gas industry in a bid to improve and streamline regulations that will result in the increased investments in oil and gas exploration and development.

Senator Win Gatchalian is pushing for a comprehensive framework for electric vehicles (EVs) to ensure the sustainability of the industry in the country as the Senate Committee on Energy began ironing out the details on how to address the challenges in the industry’s development.

The Senate Committee on Energy held a public hearing on a bill seeking to ensure not only the promotion and adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) but also the sustainability of the EV ecosystem in the country in the long run, Senator Win Gatchalian said.

Senator Win Gatchalian is calling for the scrutiny of the level of the Philippines’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and an update on the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), the plan to ensure that the country meets its intended commitment to reduce at least 70 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 conditioned on external support pursuant to the Paris Agreement.

Senator Win Gatchalian has committed to champion the creation of a regulatory framework for waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies in the 18th Congress, in line with the Duterte administration’s thrust to advance renewable energy in the country.

The Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Biofuels will dig deeper into the feedstock and pricing problems that continue to plague the biofuels industry in the country when the 18th Congress opens, Senator Win Gatchalian said.

Senator Win Gatchalian has vowed to prioritize the passage of a bill in the 18th Congress that will spur microgrid development in unserved and underserved areas nationwide to help the government achieve its goal of 100% household electrification level by 2022.

The Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC), which serves as the country’s primary watchdog in the power sector, has been renamed to reflect the expansion of its oversight powers to the entire energy sector with the recent passage of Republic Act (RA) No. 11285 or the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, Senator Win Gatchalian said.

Senator Win Gatchalian is pushing for diversification of bioethanol feedstock sources and improved production processes to help bring down barriers preventing the takeoff of biofuels in the country.