The ATO green roads profiles present country-level perspectives on how 35 Asia-Pacific economies are addressing the development and management of sustainable eco-friendly roads. Drawing from diverse datasets and policy documents, the profiles highlight practices and measures that contribute to greener transport infrastructure.

Developed by the Asian Transport Observatory (ATO) in partnership with the International Road Federation (IRF), the profiles are designed to complement the Green Roads Toolkit. The toolkit provides a practical reference for integrating good practices across nine dimensions:

• Decarbonization
• Climate resilience
• Water and land management
• Pollution reduction
• Conserving biodiversity
• Responsible sourcing of materials
• Improving quality of life
• Disaster preparedness
• Fostering inclusive growth

This 2025 edition builds on earlier work to provide a comprehensive resource for guiding the planning, development, construction, and management of greener, more sustainable roads.

The Philippine road network covers 324,200 kilometers, acting more like a dense web of tiny vessels tailored to the country's diverse geography. With a road density of 1,087 meters per square kilometer, the network is widespread but its usefulness varies. Most of it consists of local and rural roads (89%), while motorways and primary routes make up only 3%. This structure presents a unique "green" challenge: achieving decarbonization and resilience requires not just focusing on high-speed roads but also upgrading the detailed, community-level connections that support the economy.

The carbon footprint of this network is expanding, though efficiency gains offer a counter-narrative. Road transport GHG emissions reached 34.8 million tonnes of CO2e in 2024, accounting for a staggering 88% of total transport emissions. While these emissions have grown by 2.1% annually since 2000, the sector has demonstrated a relative decoupling of carbon from economic activity. Emissions intensity relative to GDP has fallen from 72 grams of CO2e per USD in 1990 to 25 in 2024, an improvement rate of 4.0% per year since 2015—outpacing the Southeast Asian average.

However, the vehicle fleet composition dictates that standard electrification strategies requires localized adaptation. Two-wheelers comprise 49% of road users, dwarfing light duty vehicles (14%) and buses (20%). Consequently, the electrification conversation cannot focus solely on electric cars. Although EV imports reached $523 million between 2015 and 2024, they still represent only 4% of road vehicle imports, largely skewed toward light-duty vehicles rather than the two-wheelers that dominate the streetscape. Furthermore, the environmental dividend of electrification is currently capped by the power sector; the grid emission factor stands at 612 gCO2 per kWh, a 1.3% regression since 2015, lagging behind the improving regional average in Asia-Pacific.

Beyond tailpipe emissions, the physical road infrastructure—approaching 1.48 billion tonnes of material—serves as a major store of embodied carbon. Each year, maintenance and expansion activities utilize about 30.9 million tonnes of material, resulting in roughly 1.2 million tonnes of embodied CO2-equivalent emissions. This material footprint faces growing threats from a volatile climate.

The fiscal exposure is acute. The Philippines faces potential average annual losses of $347.8 million to transport infrastructure, with 85% of these losses attributed specifically to roads. Bridges and tunnels, while only 0.3% of the infrastructure stock, bear a disproportionate risk, accounting for 4.8% of losses. Future scenarios suggest this fragility will intensify; under a 4.5-degree warming trajectory, more than 15% of road and rail assets would be exposed to frequent and extreme precipitation. This reality transforms road maintenance from a routine engineering task into a critical climate adaptation strategy.

The expansion of the road network also creates friction with the country's ecological and social fabric. Biodiversity is under pressure, with road infrastructure now present in 109 of the Philippines' 130 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), equating to 115 meters of road per thousand square kilometers of protected land—significantly higher than the Southeast Asian average.

Simultaneously, the network struggles to deliver equitable safety and access. Road crash fatalities remain a persistent crisis, with the World Health Organization estimating over 11,000 deaths in 2021. Road crashes impose a significant economic burden on the Philippines. Fatalities and serious injuries cost an estimated 11 billion USD in 2021, equivalent to roughly 3% of the country's GDP in addition to healthcare expenditure of 5.9% of GDP in the same year, highlighting the substantial strain on resources.

Access disparities further isolate vulnerable populations; 7 million rural residents live beyond the reach of all-season roads, severing them from healthcare and markets, while in urban areas, only 20% of residents in the majority of cities have adequate access to public transport.

Transitioning to "Green Roads" in the Philippines requires a pivot from simple expansion to integrated asset management. Policy frameworks must therefore evolve from simple connectivity targets to a holistic "Green Roads" standard. This approach necessitates a shift in investment priorities: prioritizing the resilience of existing assets over indiscriminate expansion, integrating biodiversity corridors into road planning, and accelerating the clean energy transition to support a burgeoning EV market. It also requires addressing the stark inequity of access, where only 20% of residents in the majority of cities have convenient access to public transport, and transport costs consume nearly 8% of household expenditures. A truly green road network is one that serves the economy without bankrupting the environment or leaving the most vulnerable populations behind.

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