President at World Energy Forum :
‘Hunger for alternative energy must not increase hunger for food’
President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the World Energy Forum in
Dubai. Picture by Sudath Silva |
Countries must bear in mind that in
search for alternative energy sources agricultural land of today and
tomorrow must not be used. We must not let the hunger of alternative
energy lead to an increase in hunger for food. The use of food crops for
fuel production must be avoided to prevent the spread of today’s threat
to food security caused by turning food crops into fuel crops. The food
energy for peoples’ lives should not be made the driving energy for
cars, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.
"In addition to monetary assistance
the transfer of technologies on sustainable energy generation to
developing nations is now an imperative because a technology must move
into economic viability for developing countries to embrace sustainable
and clean energy", President said addressing the World Energy Forum in
Dubai yesterday.
Any policy that would not consider
the imbalance in the ability of developed and developing nations to
absorb new technologies is likely to be rejected by the people. Such
measures might be viewed as unjust, unilateral and self-serving of an
influential few. Therefore it is extremely important to balance the
right of every nation to development with our shared desire to have a
sustainable and Greener planet, he added.
A modern economy needs to secure
cheap, reliable and efficient energy resources. Today, all nations face
the challenge of securing such resources. It is important to strike a
balance between the ever-growing demand for energy and the need to
harness energy resources in a sustainable and equitable manner. Our
challenge is to maintain this balance for the benefit of future
generations, President Rajapaksa said.
Full text of the speech:
At the outset let me convey my sincere best wishes and gratitude
towards His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and the
government of the United Arab Emirates and to Ban Ki-moon, Secretary
General of the United Nations for their timely initiative to address the
issue of global energy security and sustainable development.
This year, 2012 designated by the United Nations as the
'International Year of Sustainable Energy for All' makes it the best
time to initiate a Forum of this nature.
I believe this Forum would give us the opportunity to share the
experiences of other nations and draw attention to the challenges faced
by my country and other developing nations on energy related issues.
The United Nations has recognized the Right to Development as a Human
Right in 1986. It is our belief that development is a universal right of
every country and citizen. It is most important to give form and
substance to this right and to have it reflected in the lives of all our
people.
Today Sri Lanka is steadily moving towards economic development with
remarkable progress and promise of growth after a three decade old
conflict that ravaged the country.
Sri Lanka’s sustained high growth has placed it among middle income
economies in the world. Enjoying democratic governance for many decades
people of Sri Lanka expect rapid and tangible economic progress. Energy
security plays a crucial role in this process. It poses difficult
challenges even to governments most committed to the betterment of their
people.
Energy resources
A modern economy needs to secure cheap, reliable and efficient energy
resources. Today, all nations face the challenge of securing such
resources. It is important to strike a balance between the ever-growing
demand for energy and the need to harness energy resources in a
sustainable and equitable manner. Our challenge is to maintain this
balance for the benefit of future generations.
The path taken by some of the developed nations to reach their
present status has not always been sustainable, environmentally friendly
or even ethical. The crises such as the grave depletion of energy
resources environmental damage and disparities in sharing of energy
resources, were the results of these actions. The harmful path taken by
these developed nations is now a major challenge to all of humanity.
Today, we all carry the burden of healing our planet to ensure
sustainable energy use to benefit future generations.
Today, Asia is fast awakening reaching great milestones in economic
growth. In the last two decades alone Asia has pulled more people out of
poverty than at any other time in human history. This was done by
creating favourable conditions for rapid economic growth. However, the
scarcity of energy resources would obstruct this upward mobility of
Asian countries.
As the Global South is realizing its true potential it may be called
upon to pay for the sins of others in their rush to development. However
I firmly believe this is not the time for blame alone. There is a
greater demand for determined and focused action. One must therefore
stress the need to consider the aspirations and rights of the developing
world in sharing energy resources in a just and equitable manner.
Let me briefly touch upon some of my country’s experiences in the
energy sector where it faces several challenges. While it is absolutely
necessary to ensure a continuous supply of electricity and petroleum
products, the expanding economy has to manage a strategic balance
between local energy resources and imported fossil fuels.
In 1995, Sri Lanka produced 95 percent of the grid electrical energy
needs from conventional hydro-power plants. However with almost all
hydro-power generating capacities utilized and energy demand greatly
expanding the government is now forced to look into alternatives to
fossil fuels. The share of electricity generated through conventional
hydro-power has been reduced to 35 percent.
Developing countries
We are proud that all Sri Lankans would shortly have access to
household electricity. At present, nearly 90 percent of households in
Sri Lanka have electricity. However the cost of generating electricity
has significantly increased along with greater dependence on fossil
fuels. As a country that does not produce petroleum, this is an
additional burden on our economy. Almost one quarter of the value of
total annual imports of Sri Lanka goes on crude oil and petroleum
products.
I am pleased to state that my government has identified the necessity
for energy independence. In 2007, we established the Sustainable Energy
Authority, to identify and implement policies to reduce our dependency
on imported fossil fuels. We have since added wind, solar and dendro
power to our energy resources.
Sri Lanka seeks to increase the share of renewable energy in power
generation to 10 percent in 2015 and to 20 percent by the end of 2020.
Conventional energy resources such as large and small scale hydro-power
have enabled Sri Lanka to produce nearly half of its energy requirement
through Green means. As a developing country, we are very proud of this
achievement, which has increased our energy productivity and minimized
waste during transmission.
Monetary assistance
However, the reality is that alternatives to fossil fuels are not
cheap, at least at their initial stages. Therefore, the developing
countries should be encouraged to make correct choices in determining
alternative energy resources most beneficial for all in the long term.
Countries must bear in mind that in this search for alternative
energy sources agricultural land of today and tomorrow must not be used.
We must not let the hunger of alternative energy lead to an increase in
hunger for food. The use of food crops for fuel production must be
avoided to prevent the spread of today’s threat to food security caused
by turning food crops into fuel crops. The food energy for peoples’
lives should not be made the driving energy for cars.
In addition to monetary assistance the transfer of technologies on
sustainable energy generation to developing nations is now an imperative
because a technology must move into economic viability for developing
countries to embrace sustainable and clean energy.
Any policy that would not consider the imbalance in the ability of
developed and developing nations to absorb new technologies is likely to
be rejected by the people. Such measures might be viewed as unjust,
unilateral and self-serving of an influential few. Therefore it is
extremely important to balance the right of every nation to development
with our shared desire to have a sustainable and Greener planet.
I take this opportunity to wish all success to the deliberations of
the World Energy Forum and thank once again His Highness Sheikh Mohammed
Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the government of the United Arab Emirates for
the wonderful hospitality and the leadership taken to address this
important and most timely issue.
May you all be blessed by the Noble Triple Gem! |