|
Climate Change and Energy Access
Inter-regional Parliamentary Hearing for Legislators from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific
15th-16th November 2008 at Arnos Vale, Tobago
Co-sponsored by the World Future Council
For the full pdf report on the hearing, click here.
Executive Summary
This was the first of three hearings bringing together legislators from all three ‘ACP’ regions: Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The event was attended by MPs from Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Barbados, the Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Solomon Islands, Samoa and Kiribati.
Whilst the diversity of these countries certainly presented some new challenges for the Climate Change and Energy Access project, the event also provided an opportunity to take a much-needed global view of the climate and energy problem – and also of the potential solutions. It was the first time that Caribbean and Pacific legislators had been included in the ACP process.
The hearing location on the Caribbean island of Tobago.
In a stirring opening presentation, Dr. John Agard, a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, outlined the current trajectory and likely consequences of climate change. Drawing the legislators’ attention to the current and projected impacts of climate change for small islands, particularly in the Caribbean region, he explained how a small difference to the sea level will have a huge impact. Amongst other major projected consequences, the speaker cited papers published in the journal Science predicting – with a 99% confidence level – a massive intensification of storms and cyclones in the region.
Dr. Gerhard Knies, a physicist and the world’s leading expert in solar thermal technology, outlined the vision of his organisation, DESERTEC, to use solar thermal power stations in deserts to provide all the energy the world requires and to transport this energy to the major cities using High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission cables. Turning to the experience of the small island states, he described them as the world’s ‘pain sensors’, emphasising the need for them to advocate in the strongest possible terms for their ‘right to exist’. They should, he suggested, propose a Planetary Climate and Energy Security Fund at the United Nations to ensure a rapid conversion of the world’s energy supplies to renewable sources.
The Tobago took several alternative approaches to addressing the question of how cash-strapped developing country governments should fund the implementation of policies to support the development of a renewables-driven economy. In a new departure for the ACP project, Dr. Norbert Wohlgemuth explained to the legislators how their countries could draw on a range of financial mechanisms to kick-start the transition to renewables, emphasising that investment in additional energy capacity over the next two decades is projected to be $22 trillion. He outlined the vast and growing range of global investment schemes targeting the sector, including initiatives of more than 20 UN agencies, the World Bank group, the Global Environment Facility, regional development banks, EU schemes and so on.
Stefan Schurig of the World Future Council, speaking about Feed-In Tariffs (FITs), also addressed the question of financing. He suggested that FITs in developing countries could be partly funded from the CDM. Feed-In Tariffs oblige utility companies to purchase electricity generated from renewable sources at a premium rate, which is guaranteed over a certain number of years. By guaranteeing renewable energy producers access to the grid and setting a favourable price per unit of power, FITs ensure that renewable energy becomes a stable, sound and long-term investment.
Rupeni Mario of our partner organisation the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) provided an outline of the challenges facing the region and the range of innovative smallscale projects being implemented to meet them. He summarised a range of policy measures for the promotion of energy efficiency, such as appliance labelling, reduced import duty on energy efficiency equipment, and reduced price compact florescent lightbulbs (CFLs) for the poor.
The effects of climate change at the hotel: sandbags are being used to protect the swimming pool from rising sea levels and storm surges. |
Finally, Dr Indra Haraksingh of the University of the West Indies painted a promising picture of the speed of change currently engulfing the Caribbean energy sector, including wind power in Jamaica, solar in Grenada and geothermal in St. Lucia. Aware of the need for rapid capacity-building and cultivation of local expertise to cope with the envisaged expansion of the sector, Dr. Haraksingh is developing an MSc course in renewable energy at the University of the West Indies. She noted that legislators from her own country, Trinidad and Tobago – the biggest carbon emitter as well as one of the richest Caribbean nations – had a responsibility to lead the way.
As in the case of the previous two hearings, the presentations provoked lively debates and sometimes also controversy. A topic of considerable interest at the hearing was the issue of whether the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) should launch claims against the large carbon emitters for the current and future damage caused by climate change. The assembled parliamentarians closed the meeting by committing to a range of actions to expedite the shift from fossil fuels and further the progress of renewable solutions in their respective countries – please see the full hearing report for further details.
This report is divided into four sections:
1. Participants
2. Action Ideas Discussed
3. Follow-up Actions
4. About the e-Parliament and the World Future Council
For the full pdf report on the hearing, click here.
|
