COMSTE TO LEAD DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE STANDARDS

The Congressional Commission on Science and Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) was delegated to take the lead in developing electric vehicle standards for the country.

In a recent meeting held at eh Clean Air Initiative Asia (CAI-Asia) various government agencies and industry players gathered to lay out plans for developing e vehicle standards that include market implications/legislative mechanisms - compliance and rating; components and coverage - Safety, Performance, Efficiency, Environmental Impact, Documentation (SPEED); and institutional roles - development, approval, implementation testing infrastructure.

In attendance were officers from CLAI-Asia, representatives from government Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC).

With the support of Industry and other government agencies in attendance, it was agreed upon that COMSTE will take the lead in developing the E-vehicle standards for the Philippines.

Dr. Manuel Biona has been delegated as the point person for this initiative. A technical working group will be formed to tackle each of the individual standards in the coming weeks.

COMSTE has identified the development of electric vehicles and green transport as priority projects of the commission for 2011.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Chair of COMSTE, said that innovative Green transport systems such as electric tricycles, hybrid jeepneys, buses and electric bicycles have the potential to lessen pollution caused by conventional transportation and the dependency on fossil fuels.