Co-creating climate mitigation strategies for Philippine island communities

In the Community-Cooperative Driven Island Decarbonization Initiative (CC-IDI) project, RLI scientists are developing climate protection plans for the Philippine islands of Romblon, Sibuyan and Corcuera together with project partners TheCentRE, ROMELCO Electric Cooperative and the local population. The aim is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, make energy supplies more sustainable and strengthen the resilience of island communities to climate change.

Engaging local stakeholders in Iceland Councils

The Philippines consists of numerous small islands and relies on expensive fossil fuels for its electricity supply and transport. At the same time, they are particularly affected by the consequences of climate change. In order to advance the energy transition on the ground, the project team is setting up so-called Island Councils on the three islands. In these, they bring together residents, young people, local authorities and electricity cooperatives (goal: at least 250 people) to jointly plan practical solutions. The members and local stakeholders are trained and supervised there so that they can act as advisory bodies for local climate planning.

Island-specific climate protection plans

The island councils are developing their own climate protection plan and ways of decarbonisation for each island. Local authorities are to officially adopt both. In addition, the project team is preparing and implementing initial pilot measures on each island. To this end, it is investigating suitable technologies, costs, responsibilities and possible risks.

More Participation

One focus of the project is on the participation of different population groups, especially women, young people and socially disadvantaged groups. With interviews, surveys, workshops and discussion rounds, the project team records their needs and perspectives. Training and discussions are intended to strengthen the knowledge, participation and sense of personal responsibility of the participants. The project helps to translate ideas into concrete and socially inclusive climate protection measures.

Open source tool for other island communities

To ensure that other islands also benefit from the results, the project team is developing a freely available open-source tool for climate protection planning on islands. It is intended to support other communities in designing their own plans for climate-friendly energy supply and sustainable development.

Project period: October 2026 – September 2029

• Setting up Island Councils
• Implementation of pilot measures
• Creation of island-specific climate protection plans
• Development of an open-source tool for climate protection planning