Faith-based and environmental groups have raised alarm over the Department of Energy’s (DOE) new advisory easing restrictions under the 2020 moratorium on new coal projects.

The group warned that it could reverse years of progress toward cleaner energy.

In a letter to Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, members of Withdraw from Coal: End Fossil Fuels (WFC:EFF) — a coalition of Church leaders and sustainable finance advocates — expressed “disappointment that at this time when the government should actually work on finally phasing out coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, it is moving to remove the barriers initially set against coal expansion.”

The groups said the new policy undermines the moratorium’s gains, which had encouraged Philippine banks to restrict coal financing and back renewable energy.

“Since [we] started monitoring the coal and gas financing and policies of 14 major banks in the Philippines, nine of them have already put restrictions on coal financing… The DOE’s new advisory threatens to wash out these hard-fought gains, while also increasing the risks [for] institutions that choose to bankroll new coal projects,” the letter read.

Formed in 2019, WFC:EFF tracks the fossil fuel portfolios of domestic banks. It warned that those still investing in coal face stranded assets and mounting financial risks.

“Banks and investors that would still opt to bankroll coal risk trapping themselves in stranded assets… The increasing viability of renewables and competition for power contracts… make coal an undesirable investment option,” the groups said.

Signatories include Bishop Gerry Alminaza of San Carlos, Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Taytay, the Conference of Major Superiors of the Philippines–JPICC, Alyansa Tigil Mina, the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, Living Laudato Si’ Philippines, and the Philippine Misereor Partnership, Inc.

They urged the DOE to “focus on ramping up renewable energy… to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement.”