Doing Away with the Kerosene Stove? Not So fast!
No commentsBy John Mbaria Environment Correspondent Nation Media Group Ltd
Negotiations on whether Kenyans and people from other developing countries should have access to cutting edge technology to tap solar, wind and geothermal power have intensified during the two-week Climate Change Conference here in Poznan, Poland, with disagreements emerging between the developed and developing countries.
A spirited group of delegates from China and 77 other states (termed G-77 & China) say that the world has enough of the cutting edge clean production technologies. But they are either unavailable to the developing world, or those that are have been too expensive for poor countries to afford.
This group believes that because what the world is seeking to achieve in the anti-global warming campaign is good for all, then those countries in possession of climate-friendly technologies ought to transfer them to developing countries. This way, the developing world would effectively play its role in combating climate change and reducing the amount of unwanted gases thrown into the atmosphere.
The G-77 and China also acknowledge the intellectual property rights issues related to research and development, and the fact that real cash and brainpower are expended in developing such technology. In this regard, they have suggested that the world starts up a Climate Development Fund that would be used to compensate the holders of such patents.
“They recognize that the innovator should be paid,” said Krishnaswamy Srinivas, a policy adviser with Greenpeace International in an interview with Nation. Srinivas said developing countries believe that once patent holders are compensated, then the relevant technologies they have developed should later be made readily available to countries like Kenya and others in the developing world. Greenpeace is an environment campaign body with a presence in 41 countries
Developing countries also say that both the developing and the developed world ought to cooperate in research and development (R&D), and that enough public capital should be injected into projects that could kick start technological development rather than relying so heavily on private investments.
But the developed world is not so enthusiastic in embracing the arguments of the G-77 & China. In some of the sessions that went on here at Poznan over the last week, delegates from developed countries expressed opposition to the injection of public cash to jump start technological development in the developing world. Rich countries favour the continuation of private investment in technological development. And though they are not averse to the setting up of the Climate Development Fund, they say it should be managed by the Washington-based Global Environmental Facility (GEF). But this stance is unwelcome to the developing countries who are, traditionally, highly uncomfortable with the GEF’s operations.
In the past there have been complaints that the World Bank has dominated GEF decisions and operated in a closed and undemocratic manner, as its decisions are made by an executive committee and not through international consensus. So developing countries want a multi-lateral climate fund which they believe will be a more representative financial body.
Developing countries say that the amount of cash required to pay for technology transfer is US$100 billion (Ksh7.8 trillion) which can be raised through normal overseas development assistance (ODA) or through placing a levy on maritime fuels and the cash generated from clean development mechanisms.
As the debates went on, it was clear to the Nation that the G-77 & China want the developed world to transfer modern technologies at two levels. One, they are seeking technologies that would help them play their role in mitigating climate change. Here, they are seeking technologies that would enable them to efficiently tap and trap solar energy; others that would aid in making industrial production more fuel-efficient, as well as those that would raise their ability to use biogas widely. Developing countries are also asking their developed counterparts to help by transferring climate adaptation technologies like early warning systems so that they can easily predict when climate-related disasters – like floods – are about to strike, as well as the know-how to arrest any rise in sea level.
“Transfer of technology is absolutely essential if the world is to meet the climate change targets set, and I hope delegates will agree to it during next year’s meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark,” said UNEP’s spokesperson, Nick Nuttall.
But as delegates from China and India led the campaign for technology transfer, it was unclear whether they were considering the role the transfer of renewable and clean technology between developing countries could have in mitigating climate change. “South to South technology transfer is already happening and should also be encouraged,” Mr Nuttall told Nation. He said both China and India have some cutting edge technologies in tapping solar and wind energy. This includes the Chinese Suntech company and Suzlon of India, which are among the world’s leading producers of renewable energy. To him, Kenya is also a leader in tapping geothermal energy in East and Central Africa and might need to share this with other countries in the region.
It would be interesting to see which side of the global development divide will carry the day by the time the Conference comes to an end on December 12. If the developing countries prevail, it means that Kenya and people in other developing countries might get some up-to-the-minute technology from industrial countries so that they can widely (and more efficiently) tap solar, wind and geothermal energy and stop relying on wood and kerosene stoves.
