Milton Catelin, Chief Executive, WCA
Voltaire once said “the perfect is the enemy of the good”. I can’t help but think that if he attended the annual COP/CMP climate negotiations he would tell us that any action aimed at addressing the climate challenge is better than waiting around for the perfect solution. This COP has been held in a country that struggles with poverty, can only provide electricity to three-quarters of its population and so must integrate its sustainable development priorities with action of climate change.
These challenges exist in developing countries the world over and they have been highlighted time and again at this conference. But as delegates strive to find the ultimate solution to climate change, they seem to forget that positive action can be taken now on both climate and development.
As an example, in the midst of these meetings, I met with a delegate from Sri Lanka, a country where only 76% of the population have access to electricity. They have long exceeded their capacity to generate electricity from their hydro resources and for the past 20 years have been one of a handful of countries to use expensive oil resources for electricity generation – but they are now looking to coal to secure their energy future. They’ve done that because coal is an affordable, accessible and reliable source of electricity.
At a conference such as this one many other delegates will criticise such a decision, but Sri Lanka can combine action on its climate and development objectives. Deployment of modern high efficiency, low emission coal-fired power generation technology will help significantly reduce the emissions profile of Sri Lanka’s electricity supply while helping their economy grow. Climate financing, such as through the Clean Development Mechanism, can support them in achieving these goals.
While we’re focussed on the longer term in these negotiations, this is a reminder that action such as this can balance energy security, poverty eradication and environmental considerations now. Many delegates here might want to live in a world without coal but they ignore the fact that coal is the backbone of modern electricity and will be for decades to come.
