4 November 2009

Visionary

In 2008, whilst still an opposition figurehead whose only certainty was more harassment, President Nasheed envisaged a time when the Maldives would be powered by renewable energy.

He is  now head of state, the world is waking up to the urgency of climate change and the first big step towards renewable energy generation and carbon neutrality has been taken by the Maldives government. A twenty year contract has been signed by the State Electricity Company and Falcon Energy to build and operate a wind farm that will supply all the electricity requirements of Male, the airport and the whole remainder of North Male Atoll. That amounts to about 40% of the country's requirement.

If this is possible, why is no other country doing it? Because for one reason and another they don't think it's worth it, yet. President Nasheed says it is worth it and it is possible, watch me. He takes every international opportunity to urge others to move faster and further, to get radical, to get imaginative.

The bottom line is that the Maldives will disappear if the sea level rises and the corals melt away (with ocean acidification). No other country has quite that existential prognosis. Yet, still, an acceptable option for a middle income country would be to talk the talk and get given aid by rich countries who assuage their own discomfort and move on.

Take a look at this video. This isn't talk, this is action. It is big money and it is risky, but not only can it serve the Maldives, it can serve as an example to the world, indeed, would it be too strong to say it can shame more affluent countries into doing more, sooner?



The principle risk is that the price of oil will not reach and stay above $100 a barrel. In this case the cost of wind energy would not bare comparison, the citizens would be angry, commercial disputes would arise whatever the contractual agreements and the president would lose considerable authority.

If a barrel of oil maintains a price around $110, the country will be saving tens of millions of dollars a year, the public/private partnership will seem brilliantly conceived and other countries and blocks of countries will be emboldened to do something similar.

"Very soon", he said recently, "I believe we will see a major shift in technology. We will see another industrial revolution and in our minds those who are bold enough to venture into this revolution will be the winners of the 21st century". To my mind he is right, though calling it and moving so early risks a quick failure that is only rehabilitated by history.

Yet, again, at the end of the day it is not about money but about survival, and I mean the survival of all of us not just the Maldives. In other recent news, 17 feet of ice has been lost on Mount Kilimanjaro since 2000, 1 in 5 mammal species are on the red list and up to 70% of plant species are under threat of extinction.

Without wanting to eulogise this guy too much, he is  inspiring. He spoke at the UN between Presidents Obama and Hu Jintao. Let's see how he is listened to at the Copenhagen Summit. But let me finish with this lovely illustration: The Fualmulah atoll development committee agreed unanimously to launch a campaign to become the first carbon neutral island in the Indian Ocean. Hassan Saeed, atoll councillor and president of the development committee said, "It started with the president's announcement to go carbon neutral and we want to show that we are firmly behind him".

Comments

MALDIVEDIVER says
I am very impresed with President Nasheed so far, he is a breath of fresh air to the Maldives future Developments.
The energy these will produce would be exceptional and inspiring to other countries.

21 November 2009, 5:39 PM