Philippines urged to sign global rooftop solar declaration at COP31

Clean energy advocates are urging the Philippines to endorse the Global Rooftop Solar Declaration after Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, and Vanuatu signed on at COP31 on Nov. 10 in Antalya, Türkiye.

The four countries joined initial signatory Australia in backing the voluntary, nonbinding declaration, which underpins the 300 Million Solar Homes initiative, a global effort to double solar-powered households to 300 million by 2030.

The Philippines has yet to sign the declaration, which guides countries in scaling home solar access through streamlined permits, lower upfront costs, and workforce development.

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. and Pakistan Minister for Climate Change Musadik Masood Malik also joined the leaders to discuss the initiative.

A statement on the declaration said the Philippines already has strong momentum to build on.

A survey by New Energy Nexus, a global nonprofit supporting clean energy entrepreneurs, found that solar demand jumped 582% in April 2026, at the height of the war in Iran.

“Filipino families have already decided they want rooftop solar to protect themselves from rising power bills and imported fuel price swings. Installers we surveyed in April saw inquiries rise by an average of 582%, though installations grew only 170%,” said Sheryl Estrella, new energy skills lead at New Energy Nexus.

“A national commitment would help close that gap, and so would affordable financing, faster permitting and net metering, a reliable supply of equipment, and more trained workers for the local installers doing the work,” Estrella added.

The statement said cheaper solar power also offers a reprieve from rising electricity costs, with local bills currently the second highest in Southeast Asia, behind only Singapore.

Households in Manila saw their electricity rates increase by 2.2% per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in October due to higher global fuel prices, according to Yu Sun Chin, senior Asia regional researcher at Zero Carbon Analytics.

Chin said rooftop solar could lower bills by letting households use their own solar power and sell extra power back to the grid.

The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), using its Solar Power Estimation of Capacities and Tracking Using Machine Learning (SPECTRUM) tool, estimated that the country has 106 gigawatts (GW) of rooftop solar potential across major urban areas and economic zones.

ICSC’s latest data show that less than 1% of this capacity has been utilized for residential rooftop solar.

Chin said Filipino consumers already produce approximately 1.3 GW of solar power through rooftop installations, almost half of which was added in the year leading up to April 2026.

Zero Carbon Analytics also found that Thai households with solar panels could have saved 77% more than non-solar households in 2024 if the net billing cap had been lifted.

Both countries have yet to realize their full rooftop solar potential, Chin said.

Chin said the 300 Million Solar Homes initiative could encourage more robust rooftop solar expansion, including measures to make installations more financially accessible.

Romil Hernandez, director for energy policy at ICSC, welcomed the global target.

“The global call for 300 Million Solar Homes by 2030 is a welcome initiative from global civil society organizations. Just like our local counterpart, the Sayang ang Araw campaign, ICSC believes that it will help the national government and local government units to become more ambitious with their energy transition targets and adopt low-hanging fruit to address the ongoing energy crisis,” Hernandez said.

“What we need are easily deployable RE solutions that can provide reliable and affordable energy to every Filipino family. This is what solar and battery storage can offer,” he added.

Hernandez said solar and battery storage offer a quick solution to Filipino families’ concerns over high electricity rates and potential blackouts.

“We cannot wait for large-scale power plants that can take years to build. We need to act now,” he said.

Raksit Pattanapitoon, lead analyst for renewables and power in Asia-Pacific at Rystad Energy, said policy on residential solar is shifting across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“The Philippines is liberalizing on the demand side. The retail contestability threshold fell to 100 kW in June 2026, with aggregation allowing residential communities to choose their supplier for the first time, and the regulator has mapped a path to full retail competition by 2031,” Pattanapitoon said.

He said Thailand and Malaysia have the most momentum behind residential solar in ASEAN, while Vietnam has shifted more cautiously from restraint to support.

Pattanapitoon said ASEAN governments historically capped residential rooftop solar by rationing grid export quotas.

Thailand’s previous 90-megawatt (MW) residential allocation was meant to last until 2030 and was exhausted by 2024, while Malaysia had to top up its NEM Rakyat quota repeatedly as each tranche sold out, he said.

“Governments now see distributed solar as both a cost-of-living measure and a hedge against higher fuel import bills since the Middle East conflict, though most will still prefer scheme-level support rather than commit to headline numbers,” Pattanapitoon said.

Hakim Albasrawy, co-founder of Bright Spots, said endorsing the declaration would lock in Malaysia’s net metering momentum as a national priority.

“The next test is fairness: solar must reach strata residents, renters, low-income families and the Orang Asli (Indigenous) and rural communities still living with unreliable power,” Albasrawy said.

At the signing, Chris Bowen, Australia’s minister for climate change and energy and COP31 president of negotiations, said 1 in 3 Australian homes has rooftop solar panels, the highest rate in the world.

“Many countries have the sunshine, the space and the demand, but lack the finance, infrastructure and workforce needed to unlock this opportunity. This Declaration is about changing that,” Bowen said.

Mirana Mahrukh, secretary of the Power Division of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, laid out her country’s target.

“Bangladesh is committed to achieving 5,500 MW of rooftop solar capacity by 2030, with an indicative implementation pathway covering approximately 870,000 rooftops,” Mahrukh said.

She said a proposed 20:80 domestic and international financing scenario would correspond to approximately 174,000 rooftops supported through domestic efforts and 696,000 rooftops requiring international cooperation.

Dipal C. Barua, chairman of the Bright Green Energy Foundation, said Bangladesh has introduced a dedicated ordinance for solar power, tax incentives, financing mechanisms, and dedicated funding facilities, and could become a model for other densely populated, energy-deficient countries within the next five years.

In Nigeria, decentralized solar has extended electricity access to 5.3 million people, according to the organizers.

“For Nigeria, investing in solar infrastructure is investing in economic stability,” said Ibrahim A. Shelleng, senior special assistant to the Nigerian president on climate finance and stakeholder engagement.

Sonia Dunlop, chief executive officer of the Global Solar Council, said the endorsements show shared ambition from the most mature solar markets to those just beginning to harness their potential.

“It took the world around 30 years to reach the first 150 million solar homes. We want to add the next 150 million in just four,” Dunlop said.

“Doubling the number of solar homes by 2030 will require skilled, permanent, and inherently local workforces that will drive long-term economic growth and job creation in every corner of the world,” she added.

Heidi Lee Douglas, chief executive officer of Solar Citizens, said rooftop solar backed by batteries will deliver cheaper power, greater energy security, and access to clean electricity.

“Together, 300 million solar homes could empower one billion solar citizens worldwide by 2030, putting power back into the hands of people,” Douglas said.

The declaration states that global solar photovoltaic capacity approached 3 terawatts in 2025, with more than 600 GW installed during the year.

Solar supplied around 12% of global electricity consumption for the first time and accounted for more than 75% of new renewable generation capacity added in 2025, the document said.

It added that more than 90% of newly commissioned utility-scale renewable capacity in 2025 produced power more cheaply than the lowest-cost new fossil fuel alternative, while solar reached a global weighted average cost of around USD 0.044 per kWh.

The declaration also cited International Energy Agency projections that renewable power capacity will increase by around 4,600 GW between 2025 and 2030, with solar accounting for almost 80% of that growth and distributed solar for around 42% of total solar expansion this decade.

Signatories commit to prioritize six areas:

• Streamlining permitting so rooftop solar is easier to install
• Integrating rooftop solar into energy and climate policy
• Unlocking affordable finance for households and communities
• Modernizing electricity grids to support distributed energy
• Ensuring equitable access to solar for all households
• Expanding training to build a skilled, local workforce

The declaration is open to endorsement from all levels of government, including local councils, cities, state or provincial governments, and national governments.