Roundtable Discussion on Renewable Energy

While in Davao I was invited by Prof. Tess Olives to sit in the discussion between Mindanao renewable energy NGOs and local government. The discussion was sponsored by Ateneo Davao and organized by Aksyon Klima Pilipinas. To begin, the premise of the whole discussion was the new FIT and corresponding idea of SoFIT. I am not familiar with these new ordinances so will not discuss it, instead I have some thoughts on renewable energy in general and the the role of Mindanao.

Renewable energy is attractive to environmentalists because of the renewable nature of its sources - wind, ocean, hydro, solar, geothermal, and biofuels, but achieving environmental sustainability will depend on the goals set by the implementers and not solely on the use of its resources. Continuing with the present power industry's paradigm will not lead to sustainability even if the source of power is renewable. The most disturbing idea I heard is using hydro-power to power Mindanao. Apparently, Mindanao is rich in water resources and the complaint was that a national plan was underway to subsidise wind power which would leave Mindanao paying for a technology that didn't apply to their provinces, since wind is not strong enough in the region as it is for Luzon and the Visayas. A subsidy for renewable energy in general would be more beneficial so each region can use the resource most available in their particular areas. I would have to agree with this, not only for it's sound logic, but also for the diversity of technologies this would create. But harnessing water from Mindanao's rivers, which could only mean building mega-dams, would be environmentally disastrous and thus unsustainable. So why is it even being discussed? Obviously, each group had their own agendas in the discussion, not all were savvy in the world of environmental sustainability, and even those that were my not have the same sentiments.

In my opinion, if we are talking about environmental sustainability and climate change then the discussion must include, first and foremost, a plan to drastically reduce energy consumption and design policies around energy efficiency. This would necessarily begin with, or in conjunction with, urban planning. Creating policies solely on producing renewable energy technology to replace the present polluting technologies will eventually lead to the same fate we are trying to avoid. And we don't get a second chance this time. Changing the toys but not the game will do nothing to slow down climate change or help the country move towards sustainable development, if indeed this is the goal. In fact the goals of government and corporations may be simply to replace the present technology because in fact the resources these technologies depend on is fast running out. So on to the next available resource. But can we run out of air, water, and sunlight? It's not that simple. The question should be, would renewable energy projects create meaningful change in the issue of Climate Change? If the goal is environmental sustainability then one must consider the entire process of production and implementation to achieve goals of sustainability. Looking at only one part of the process and ignoring the rest will not lead us any closer to our goals. Let's take wind energy as an example, harnessing wind power to supply energy to businesses and households sounds environmentally benign, but if we take the construction of modern windmills into consideration we then see that it is no longer environmentally-friendly. Modern windmills are made of steel, which needs to be mined...you see where I'm going. A credit/debit accounting of the whole process is needed to show that the technology will lead to goals of sustainability. The NGOs present know the whys and hows of creating a sustainable energy future, but will government and corporations, who are new to the game, listen?

Transportation and Rio+20

Transportation policies and principles in Urban Design is the crux of issues concerning Climate Change. Modern cities are built around the use of only one form of transportation - the automobile. Pedestrians, bikes, and public transport, of which combined creates a walkable city, are left on the wayside and those that can afford to are often forced to use a car to make it to work, do shopping, drop off the kids, go to a friends house, etc. Those that can't afford to are forced to take cramped public transportation, breath carcinogenic air, and many times do not make it to work at all. That is why the $175 billion pledge made by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and seven other multilateral development banks (MDBs) towards the improvement of sustainable transportation in developing countries is such an important step made in the recently concluded Rio+20 Summit. I look forward to seeing the changes this commitment will bring to countries around the world, especially the Philippines.

The Rio+20 Summit was a failure by many standards, but this is not to say that all is lost. The significance of Rio+20 is that it has become perfectly clear that leading governments across the globe are not going to do a thing about the environmental crisis. It makes me wonder why they even showed up.

  RIO+20 SUMMIT ENDS, WITH LITTLE FAITH SEEN IN GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS

Twenty years after the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro promised an era of aggressive action on biodiversity loss and global warming, the United Nations Rio+20 sustainability summit ended Friday with recriminations and a growing sense that international institutions will play an increasingly diminished role in solving environmental problems. World leaders — with the notable absence of the heads of the U.S., U.K, Germany, and Russia — approved an agreement that lacked specifics, commitments, and measurable targets on how to promote sustainable economic development. Numerous conservationists and officials said that cities, local governments, the private sector, and environmental groups will now have to play the key role in fostering sustainable economic growth, slowing climate change, and preserving biodiversity. “The greening of our economies will have to happen without the blessing of world leaders,” said Lasse Gustavson, executive director of the World Wildlife Fund. Speaking on the final day of the summit, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the U.S. would partner with 400 companies to eliminate deforestation in their supply chains and would provide $20 million in grants for clean energy projects in Africa.

Important as it is that governments cooperate, it is even more important that individuals, businesses, and cities or nations move towards a sustainable future inspite of what is happening with their national governments. Indeed these things are already happening and well on it's way to a movement strengthened by nothing more than the will to do what is right.

Ban Ki-moon: the momentum for change at Rio+20 is irreversible

Cowards at Rio?: organizations decry 'pathetic' agreement

Rio+20 Outcome: The Anthropocene Challenge

Climate Change Short-Film

Together, National Geographic, the IPCC, the UN and the UN Foundation produced a new short film outlining the facts, showing the impacts and providing a way forward in combating catastrophic climate change.

Bali Climate Change Talks End

There was quite a lot of drama, and it seems the talks ended on a good note with the US agreeing to 2-years of negotiations on decreasing greenhouse gas emissions together with the rest of the world. It wasn't Al Gore, whose criticism of his country's behavior garnered a round of applause, nor was it the scathing remarks of green NGO's, nor was it the threat of political suicide at home, that at the very last minute changed the mind of the US delegate and join the rest of the world in legally binding negotiations to avert further climate change. It was the very stern reprimand of Papua New Guinea that changed the tides. I quote the Papua New Guinea representative, "If you are not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of. Please get out of the way."

Although, I am skeptical about how thing will proceed in the next two years, I am hopeful because IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri is satisfied with the outcome of the talks. The IPCC, together with Al Gore, have jointly been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work on the film An Inconvenient Truth.

Watch the last days of Bali on video.

Press Conference on UN Climate Change Meeting

The consensus at the Bali UN Climate Change Meeting is that there is one country whose seems to have come to the meeting with a sinister attitude of destroying the talks that all other countries have come to with an attitude of goodwill. That country is the USA. The US is the top emitter of greenhouse gases, yet is unwilling to cooperate with other countries in placing caps that will significantly lower emissions. The Bush administration even had the absurd idea that countries should meet with them at a meeting in the Whitehouse and take talks on climate change from there. The United Nations is the only place that countries can meet and make decisions that are legally binding. Not only is the administration isolated from the talks but from their own country as well. Back in the US historic legislation and laws on reducing CO2 emissions have just been passed into law by individual states and the senate.

Watch the press conference with representatives of NGO's that are involved on OneClimate Virtual Bali.

IPCC & World Governments Will Meet On Climate Change Issues

The UN climate panel will meet with 130 governments in Valencia, Spain next week. The panel will seek tougher measures from countries, especially the US and China, in curbing climate change. There is no doubt as to the cause of climate change and to the solutions that need to be applied. According to the scientists, climate change can still be averted with tougher measures.

"There is no reason to question the science any longer," said Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Programme, who said states should act "in the collective interest of humanity."

The fear of environmentalists is that pressure from some governments might water down the conclusion of the IPCC 20-page summary for policy makers in order to stall action.

full story: UN Climate Panel to Meet, Add Pressure for Action

Al Gore & the IPCC Win the Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 went to Al Gore and the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Gore in a statement said he was " deeply honored ... We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity."

"It is the most dangerous challenge we've ever faced, but it is also the greatest opportunity we have had to make changes," he later said at a brief news conference in Palo Alto, Calif.

~ MSNBC, Oct. 12, 2007

This really gives me hope for the future of our environment. I was beginning to see this fight for environmental causes as an exercise in futility.

Thanks Al.

Victims and Survivors

I'm glad to announce that my garden is recovering from last month's erratic weather. The unexpected rains and uncommon heat were too much for my tomato seedlings and cauliflower, but my greens, surprisingly, survived. The past two weeks I harvested mustard greens, bok choy and romaine lettuce. I've actually been having a steady supply of salad greens since I decided to leave them in the propagation house/greenhouse to grow. This month's harvest of lettuce had a normal appearance, unlike last month's and the months before when the lettuce seedlings core grew into a stem which gave the plants an alien appearance. It was still delicious though and didn't stop me from making my salads.

Growing one's own vegetables certainly gives one a first hand look at Climate Change. I was certainly brutally aware of the unusual weather's effects. November thru February are usually the cool-dry months of the year. So it was quite disturbing when the heat reached 90 degrees F and at the same time storms were still brewing way past their season. On the BBC's environmental report today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded, with 90% accuracy, that Climate Change is caused by humans. Despite scientists persistent declarations of the reality of Climate Change it seems that the US government is consistently politicizing scientific reports on the matter (The US is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in the world and is the only first world country that hasn't agreed to the Kyoto Protocol), according to The Union of Concerned Scientists. Because of this, the world is having a hard time controlling or reversing Climate Change. The greatest fear is that sea levels are rising which is causing havoc to climates all over the world. It is quite scary. Especially when it is causing damage to our food supply.

EU's New Climate Change Target

On the news today is the EU’s new proposal for targets on Climate Change emission standards. It seems like they are proposing a 20% decrease on greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020. Although this has just been proposed and not yet approved by the member countries they seem to be patting themselves on the back and proudly stating that this is “the most ambitious policy ever”.

"If this was adopted it would be by far the most ambitious policy ever -- not only in Europe but the world -- against climate change," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference.

Whether these policies ever get implemented is anybody’s guess. Sadly, even if these policies come to fruition, the targets are not nearly enough to make significant progress in the fight against Climate Change.

"Scientific findings show that it simply won't be enough for the EU to only reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2020 if we want to avoid catastrophic climate change," said Jan Kowalzig, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe.

When will policy makers actually listen to the scientists? It would take cooperation between all countries of the world and drastic measures to affect Climate Change. Considering the catastrophic impact of neglecting what scientists have been saying for decades about Climate Change it is mind-boggling that governments are not more inclined to make the environment the top of their agenda.

Climate Change websites:
Union of Concerned Scientists
An Inconvenient Truth
Fight Global Warming