INFOCUS | INDIA-CHINA | REPORT
Rolling the ball in Durban The Durban conference’s greatest achievement was acknowledging the fact that current policies were not enough and that it was time for a change in how we viewed climate change and green energy. Safaan Syed
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n 28 November 2011, countries gathered in Durban to hold the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference. For almost two weeks delegates threw themselves into the chaotic subject of climate change, trying to devise a solution that would be fair to all. The German media would go on to say that the Durban Climate Agreement was “almost useless” having neither concrete pledges nor a speedy timeline. But this is an extremely shallow way to judge the conference, for it did something crucial that had to be done: it got the ball rolling. Climate change has always been a sensitive issue and this sensitivity has led to a hesitance to even broach the subject. The conference marks a beginning to serious government action against global warming and a step forward in the pursuit of clean energy. Previous conferences, while providing important groundwork, were mostly spent arguing semantics and laying out an even base to begin building on. Now, with the Durban conference, we are finally beginning to reap the fruits of the previous conferences and the countries of the world are now in a position to making a decision on the future of climate change and green energy. Evaluating Past Efforts Past efforts to combat climate change have been fraught with error and ineffective. The best effort made so
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far has been the Kyoto Protocol, which called for plans to reduce carbon dioxide, created an adaption fund for developing countries, and established a Compliance Committee to enforce the plans. The Achilles’ heel of the Kyoto Protocol was that one of the major nations involved in climate change, the United States of America, has yet to ratify it. Without its signature the Protocol remains ineffective. The conference marks the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol and with it nations are working towards an agreement on solving the pressing issue of climate change. Climate change, earlier introduced as global warming by the world’s scientific community, is a phenomenon in which the natural greenhouse gases of the earth, which trap the heat from the sun and release the excess, are supple-
mented by the various gases released by modern industrial processes. These gases force more heat to be trapped from the sun than usual; this causes a sharp increase in the temperature of the planet, leading to changing weather patterns, ice cap melting, and other such environmental problems. Carbon dioxide emissions are reaching a record high, with an almost 50 per cent increase since 1990, due to the conventions of technology. Everyday conventions such as cars, factories, and coal-fueled power plants release gas into the air, resulting in more and more carbon dioxide, which leads to more and more climate change. Unless a change in approach and attitude occurs, climate change will continue to grow unchecked, causing unimaginable damage to the earth’s environment. Role of clean energy Climate change is not an inevitable fate and technology offers many sources of alternative energy in the future. Solar, wind, and geothermal systems are already being pioneered around the world and such energies the key to cracking the climate change problem. These green energies are meant to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, thereby minimizing the change in the greenhouse effect and climate change. Solar energy is harnessed in many ways and is a very broad field of green energy. The first form is through photovoltaic panels. Photovoltaic panels are the plates positioned on rooftops that are often associated with solar energy. This system was once written off as too costly, but is now making a comeback due to reduced manufacturing costs resulting in cheaper panels. Another form of solar energy is what is called “concentrated solar power” in which panels jointly reflect their rays into one point, creating tremendous heat, powering an engine and producing electricity. Yet another style of solar energy is Solar Thermal Energy which uses sun rays to heat a liquid into a gas, which then goes to an engine and generates electricity. Of all these methods, the photovoltaic system seems to be the most popular and the best “value” being both efficient and
economically practical. Wind energy is another form of environmental energy that is becoming increasingly prevalent. In contrast to the various methods of harnessing solar energy, wind energy is generated in primarily one form, that of turbines. Turbines are the image usually associated with wind energy, giant wind-powered fans. Wind turbines take up minimal space and have a high efficiency rate in addition to being good for the environment. Unfortunately, wind turbines are also highly expensive and have various capacities depending on how hard the wind is blowing. While they are still an extremely viable energy source and particularly effective, turbines must be approached with a measure of caution. Yet another type of green energy is geothermal. Geothermal energy is the use of heat in the earth for energy purposes. It’s not as common as solar or wind, but it still has a fair amount of potential and viability. The main disadvantages are its initial cost and, more importantly, the scarcity of building sites. Geothermal energy requires very specific conditions which are a huge impediment to mainstream construction. Because of this major problem, geothermal energy is not yet as effective as solar or wind. Obviously, no change can occur instantly and switching to green energy will require a massive lifestyle change in society. To ease this transition a “hybrid” approach is being applied, making use of both mainstream and alternative energy simultaneously while gradually phasing out the former. This same philosophy applies to transportation with hybrid vehicles already in the market. The clear reduction of carbon dioxide from these technologies will decrease the greenhouse effect and limit global warming. Scenario in India and China Despite having an optimum environment for solar energy, India has yet to fully tap into its vast potential for renewable energy. India happens to have an extremely well-made programme for supporting renewable energy and this could lead to India becoming a leader in the field of renewable energy. The Indian Solar Loan Programme has won the Energy Globe World award
for its commitment to green energy, and India is the first nation to set up a ministry for non-conventional energy. India has all the capability to make use of solar and wind energy to cause a business sensation; all that is necessary is to activate it. Launched in 2003, the four-year Indian Solar Loan Programme is a partnership between United Nations Environmental Programme and two of India’s largest banking groups to establish a consumer credit market for financing solar homes in parts of India where the conventional electricity grid is absent or unreliable. The innovative financing arrangement involves an interest rate reduction, market development support, and a process to qualify solar suppliers. India is poised for a solar economic boom with the launch of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, a comprehensive plan to combat climate change with solar energy. The plan aims to establish India as the premier global leader in solar energy through a three phase approach the first of which is to commission 1000MW worth of solar projects by 2013. With all these supports in place, India is on the brink of a solar revolution, the future of which is entirely dependent on the Indian people. China, on the other hand, already has a burgeoning renewable energy economy, growing exponentially. China’s wind resources are the largest in the world and it is the fourth largest producer of wind power. In addition, China is the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, and because of all these factors, the Chinese wind industry has appeared impervious to the widespread recession. China’s solar industry is also quite prolific, producing over 30 per cent of the world’s photovoltaic solar panels. Solar energy is being supplemented with the Golden Sun plan which provides subsidies and technological aid for countries developing solar power. On top of that, China has an unusually large number of geothermal hotspots, which makes the energy form effective and viable. China’s environmental energy situation is growing to the level that experts at Harvard University and Tsinghua University speculate that by 2030 China could
meet all of its energy demand through wind power. The Road ahead So why the slight detour into environmental energy? Because it is at the crux of the global warming issue and was the principal concern of the Durban conference. Debates raged on about how green energy should be employed to combat it and some controversial plans came up. One example came from Russia, to redefine which countries were “rich” and “poor” so as to distribute responsibilities toward green energy. This idea was met with hostility by nations that would be recategorized even though they are still developing countries (countries like India and China). Both China and India reaffirmed their continued commitment to the cause, but asked the other nations to recognize that they are still economically developing and will need more concrete terms before making concrete vows. They further emphasized that they had each done a large share of the work in combating climate change and demanded fair treatment for their work. In the midst of all this, it became apparent that some real progress was finally being made in areas like the equity of responsibility between countries and future plans such as the Green Fund for developing countries. The Durban conference made many lasting contributions to the reduction of climate change, but ultimately its greatest was its acceptance that current policies were not enough and that it is time for a change in how we view climate change and how we view green energy. The Durban conference is an indicator that the energy industry is going to change dramatically and that after years of inconclusive results it is finally occurring. The ball is finally rolling.
Safaan Syed is a student with an avid interest in environment and development issues.
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