The Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) in coordination with the EU SWITCH Policy Support Component Philippines is conducting a project evaluation and incentive availment workshop for various government agencies that will be involved in the implementation of the Climate Incentives for Manufacturing (CLIMA) Scheme set under the guidelines of the 2017 Investments Priorities Plan (IPP).
CLIMA is a targeted financial incentives scheme crafted by the BOI under the 2017 IPP Guidelines that aims to promote energy efficiency and conservation, and the greening of the country’s manufacturing industry and its sub-sectors. The scheme covers investment projects involving the manufacture of goods and establishment of energy efficiency-related facilities where either utilization of which will significantly lead to efficient use of energy, natural resources or raw materials, minimize pollution, or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“Our manufacturing industry is challenged to further strengthen competitiveness by integrating Green Economic Development in its operations, which has now become a global trend. With the CLIMA Scheme in place, we provide our local industries a proactive response to such worldwide trend, ensuring their sustainable growth and competitiveness by embedding climate change in our industrial policy,” said Trade Assistant Secretary Rafaelita Aldaba during the workshop opening (May 9, 2017).
Under the scheme, projects qualified will be granted capital equipment incentives and Income Tax Holiday (ITH). Firms may avail of capital equipment incentive between 1 to 10 percent of capital equipment cost in import duty exemption if the installation of new equipment qualifies for registration as a modernization project and if the potential annual saving of energy consumption is at least 1,000,000 kilowatt-hours per year. Firms may also avail of ITH equivalent to 50 percent of the cost installed new energy efficient and reckoned one year after installation of said equipment.
The first day of the two-day workshop covered an introduction and overview of the CLIMA scheme, its scope, timeframe, criteria, registration, evaluation, and the mechanics for conducting cost-benefit analysis of investment project applications.
Various representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau (EMB-DENR), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Science and Technology, Department of Budget and Management (DBM), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and investment promotion agencies such as the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), and among others, attended the first day of the workshop.
The second day meanwhile will be conducted on May 18, 2017 and will cover an advanced training on the more specific details of the CLIMA scheme including a thorough discussion, feedback, actual hands-on exercises, and recommendations on the registration and evaluation procedures from the participants. Also to be discussed are the accounting of carbon emissions and the conduct of cost benefit analysis projects and integration to the CLIMA Incentive Scheme.