Committing to coal? Scripts, sociotechnical imaginaries, and the resurgence of a coal regime in the Philippines

The Philippine coalscape emerged from state-sponsored support for coal that civil society continually challenges. This paper examines how this coalscape was produced from contesting sociotechnical imaginaries and by whom. The article highlights how the state circulated the imaginaries of support towards coal import, domestic mining, and combustion for electricity using the scripts of energy security for national development. At the same time, it also sheds light on how proponents of an anti-coal imaginary used their scripts of energy transition, energy justice, and energy democracy. Using primary data from interviews, supplemented by a review of policy documents, news reports, and popular articles, this paper maps the scripts that proponents employ to produce these imaginaries. On the one hand, scripts on affordability, access, and reliability have shored up the pro-coal imaginary in the Philippines, which, altogether, converge into a grand imaginary of securing domestic energy supply to address the country's economic development. On the other hand, the scripts of polycentric social mobilizations for just and democratizing energy transition against pollution, human rights abuses (especially on Indigenous Peoples), and climate action buttressed an anti-coal imaginary. Putting into the spotlight these conflicting imaginaries provides insights into the intricate associations of energy systems with the environment, human rights, sustainability, and climate.

Automated summary

The coalscape in the Philippines is shaped by both state support for coal and challenges from civil society, with conflicting imaginaries of anti-coal and pro-coal being produced through different scripts such as energy security, energy justice, and energy democracy. The insights gained from these conflicting imaginaries highlight the intricate associations of energy systems with environment, human rights, sustainability, and climate.