Genevieve Mallet

Efforts to reduce emissions through the adoption of renewable energy have revealed new vulnerabilities in energy security. As countries shift away from oil-driven conflicts, they are becoming enmeshed in the geopolitics of critical minerals, trading one form of dependence for another.

China now dominates batteries, magnets, rare earths, heavy metals, and the construction of wind turbines and EVs. With the West divided, as the US has withdrawn from climate agreements and collaboration has stalled, geopolitical leverage is increasingly shaping the future of the green transition, rather than climate cooperation. This pause is significant; it represents a tactical intermission rather than a strategic resolution, an acknowledgment of dependency that leaves the rivalry intact.

Stationed on the western coast of Bataan near the foothills of Mount Natib, the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) has lain dormant for nearly forty years. Commissioned during President Ferdinand Marcos Sr’s administration, the plant was almost completed in 1984, costing the country $2.3 billion. Today, the Philippines is revisiting its nuclear energy ambitions as part of a broader strategy to cut its emissions.