Visitors at Mirant Philippines' carbon sink project near the Pagbilao generating plant

Climate Change Action Plan Update

Consistent with our action plan, we have undertaken a wide range of projects that help address some of the important solutions to climate change, including renewable energy, greenhouse gas mitigation, research and education, and our own greenhouse gas inventory. Some of our climate change initiatives had to be scaled back in 2003 due to the financial status of the company. Upon emergence from bankruptcy, we will evaluate our climate change action plan and modify it as needed to ensure that it is aligned with our business going forward.

Mirant Philippines Creates Landmark Carbon Sink

Mirant Philippines expanded their marine sanctuary and forestry efforts in 2003 to launch a landmark carbon sink initiative.

Working with the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources and local government bodies, Mirant is leading the reforestation of 150 hectares of mangrove and 150 hectares (371 acres) of upland forests in the Pagbilao and Padre Burgos municipalities near our Pagbilao generating plant.

The carbon sink initiative includes a 5-year research study commissioned with The University of the Philippines-Los Baños Foundation to quantitatively measure the capacity of Mirant’s reforestation project sites to store and sequester carbon.

By December 2003, 75 hectares (185 acres) of mangrove forestation had been established. In addition, project training and construction of necessary facilities had been completed. Organization of the monitoring and evaluation committee for both upland and coastal projects is essential to the long-term success of the programs.

The Pagbilao area is the home of the second most diverse mangrove species in the world. Mirant’s carbon sink initiative is considered the largest project undertaken to date to preserve and protect mangrove forests in the Philippines.

Coal Combustion Products Project

Mirant signed on to the Power Partners program, the electric power industry’s voluntary partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, to address climate change by reducing, avoiding, or sequestering greenhouse gas emissions. Under the Power Partners program we are partners in a joint industry initiative, the Coal Combustion Products Project (C2P2), which will explore ways to better market coal ash for use in other manufacturing operations. This results in a potential avoidance of CO2 emissions from other industry operations. This is a good strategic fit with some of our generating plants’ efforts to increase the recycling of their ash through an ash-marketing vendor.

Emission Reductions from Energy Efficiency Projects

Mirant had entered into an agreement to fund 400,000 metric tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (mtCO2e) emission reductions. The reductions were to be generated from a variety of projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including methane releases from gas pipelines and other energy efficiency projects in Russia. We planned to register these greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 1605(b) voluntary greenhouse gas registry. This project was suspended in 2004 due to financial constraints associated with our bankruptcy case.

Mirant Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory

Each year we update the inventory of our CO2 emissions from our generating plants utilizing the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. As a next step, we will expand our inventory to account for other greenhouse gases that may be emitted from our generating plants.

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