Asia Pacific Initiative for Renewable
Energy
and Energy Efficiency Conference
October
14, 1997
Jakarta, Indonesia
Remarks
by Ambassador Roy
Welcome:
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a pleasure
to welcome you to Jakarta and to this conference.
Introduction:
Developments throughout human history,
our greatest triumphs, our meanest defeats, have taken
place on a world which, in proportion to its size, is as
smooth as an orange. Only in our lifetimes has it been
possible to look at earth from space and see just how
thin the surface layer is that, by supporting life in all
its many forms, makes us different from the moon, or
Mars. And just as it makes little difference to the fruit
inside whether the skin of an orange is wet or dry, is
flecked with soot, or shiny and clean, so the changes
that a century and a half of economic development have
made to the thin film of air, water, and soil that cloaks
our planet do not threaten the earth’s continued
existence. These changes do, however, threaten our own.
The global environmental challenges we now face affect
the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we grow,
and the natural environment in which we live.
We are assembled here in Jakarta at a
time when forest fires throughout this region have
darkened skies and poluted air without regard to national
borders. This provides a powerful reminder that the
sovereign rights we enjoy in a world of nation states
cannot alter the fact that we share a common globe. Many
scientists are convinced that we face an even greater
challenge that can profoundly affect our future: the
threat of global climate change.
I have lived and traveled extensively
throughout Asia for over half a century. During that
period, I have seen vast changes sweep over this region
that have brought new lifestyles, higher incomes, and
hope for future generations. But they have also brought
increasingly visible environmental damage and spread
health-threatening pollution. The benefits of change come
only at the expense of global costs that may take
generations to manifest themselves.
Good leadership, wise policies, and
hard work have enabled peoples throughout this region to
destroy the old stereotype of an Asia consisting of
teeming masses fatalistically accepting the prospect of
an unending cycle of grinding poverty. Just as Asians
have seized control of their own futures, the purpose of
this conference is to look at some of the ways peoples
throughout the globe can better manage the costs of
economic progress so that we can meet the challenge of
global climate change. These adjustments will also
require good leadership, wise policies, and hard work.
But the payback in terms of sustainable development,
increased energy efficiency, and a better environment for
our children can more than justify the sacrifices
required.
Global Climate Change
is Real
Scientists understand that there are
many causes for global climate change. Some of these are
natural phenomena, but the major ones, such as burning
fossil fuels and deforestation, are the result of our own
activities. The long-term effects of global warming, some
already evident, are likely to be rising sea levels and
changing weather patterns. While a debate continues over
the cause, scientists estimate that the temperature of
sea water has risen about two degrees since the beginning
of the industrial age. If this trend continues, the
effects will become increasingly severe. How soon these
consequences occur, and their ultimate severity, could
depend to a large extent on us.
Here in Indonesia, this year has
brought dramatic evidence of how vulnerable we are to
climate change. While el Niņo is not caused by global
climate change, some scientists believe that rising ocean
temperatures since the 1982 el Niņo are contributing to
the severity of the current el Niņo. If the drought
continues into December, it will not only complicate the
task of containing and extinguishing the forest fires,
but will also affect Indonesia’s food production.
The potential long-term impact of
global climate change on human civilization could be
devastating. Not only could rising sea levels inundate
entire countries and affect millions of people in coastal
areas, global climate change could bring about permanent
changes in agricultural production that will adversely
affect our ability to feed ourselves. It is these
changing weather patterns and their effect on food
production that many experts find most worrisome. It was
a significant milestone in recognition of this problem
when major insurance companies began to take global
climate change and its impact very seriously because they
could have billions of dollars of exposure.
Climate change is also a factor in
emerging and re-emerging diseases. Malaria, which only a
few years ago appeared to be coming under control, has
surged back as a leading cause of death, killing over two
million people last year. While the resurgence of malaria
is partly due to the emergence of treatment-resistant
malarial strains, some specialists believe that global
warming has extended the area affected by these deadly
forms of malaria.
Making Renewable Energy
and Energy Efficiency Attractive
Meeting this challenge will not be
easy. Some measures to increase energy efficiency are so
economically attractive that the market will foster their
introduction. But even in those cases where investments
in energy efficiency will pay for themselves in less than
two years, governments can speed their adoption by the
use of incentives. In the case of other less economically
attractive measures, courageous and farsighted government
leadership will be required to promote their introduction
and to reap the environmental benefits. In the United
States, for example, the government requires certain
levels of energy efficiency for automobiles and other
consumer products, and encourages renewable energy power
generation through tax incentives and other measures.
Other policies can encourage
environmental investment. In the United States, we have
developed a sulfur dioxide trading system which allows
companies to buy and sell sulfur dioxide reduction
credits to meet clean air requirements. The ability to
sell these credits has encouraged companies to invest in
the best technology to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions.
The ability to buy credits also gives a company a
benchmark against which to judge whether to meet its
clean air requirements through purchase or investment in
new equipment. In this way, we believe our companies are
meeting our national sulfur dioxide reduction targets at
the least cost. It is this experience that has led us to
champion an international carbon trading system. It often
makes more sense to buy the best carbon-friendly
equipment for a new plant than to retrofit an old one.
Similarly, investment in carbon sinks is often cheaper
than retrofitting existing plants. A well-regulated
international carbon trading system would make
environmentally friendly investments profitable.
There are many other ways to encourage
business to invest in clean technology. Eliminating
tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers for both equipment
and services, as has been proposed within APEC, is
another effective way to encourage companies to choose
the best technologies by reducing their cost.
It is not just scientists and
government officials who are concerned about global
climate change. Many forward-looking thinkers in industry
share this concern and are prepared to act. An excellent
example of private-public sector cooperation is the work
of the U.S. firm Unocal with Indonesia’s electricity
authority, PLN, to develop environmentally friendly
geothermal power generation. Through an investment of
$434 million, Unocal has brought 165 megawatts of power
on line at Salak, West Java. Similar large investments
are in the planning or implementation stage. BP has a $20
million dollar investment a in solar power project.
There are other ways in which
imaginative policies can encourage environmentally
friendly energy investment. For example, investment in
grid-connected renewable energy can be encouraged by
simplifying the sale of electricity generated by small
producers. The Indonesian Government has introduced a new
small producer power program which provides special
incentives for renewable energy. Investment in off-grid
renewable energy can be encouraged by electricity tariffs
that reflect true cost of service, especially in remote
areas, where the cost of service by conventional means is
very high.
Finally, investment in energy
efficiency can be encouraged by rationalization of
electricity tariffs and the reduction of import duties on
higher efficiency equipment.
Conference of Parties
to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
The nations of the world will gather in
Kyoto in December to negotiate a new agreement to
establish binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions. The industrialized countries will have to make
the largest contributions to this effort. Nevertheless,
for this agreement to achieve its ambitious goals, all
nations must participate. Participation is not cost-free,
but we do have options on how to meet the commitments we
make. Some of these options, often referred to as
"no regrets measures," can be undertaken at
little or no cost. In other cases, the costs can be kept
within reasonable bounds. A few percentage points
increase in efficiency in the generation and use of
energy can make a big difference. In the same way,
increased use of energy from renewable sources can play a
major role in reducing total greenhouse gas emissions.
The problems we face are not simple,
and the solutions will be neither perfect nor cost-free.
Yet the best available data show that inaction will be
worse and more costly. That is why the objectives of this
conference are so important, and why it is such an honor
and pleasure for me to welcome you here.
Thank you.
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