I started the day by enthusiastically hopping on the the Cologne—Bonn train at 9 am, without even being bothered that it was chilly and drizzling and I had not had my routine morning coffee. The train promptly delivered us to the Bonn UN Campus train station, where we luckily caught a zero-emissions COP shuttle bus going to Bula and Bonn zones. Traditionally, COP organizers take a day off on Sunday between week 1 and week 2, but this year they decided to continue programming. Many of the events today focused on linkages between health and climate change. With Fiji presidency, the agenda centered small island states and their particular vulnerability to health consequences of climate change. I was very curious to learn about the extent of this inter-agenda collaboration since I have not seen much attention or development aid going to small island states in my work in the healthcare field.
However, the day decided to unfold differently. After smooth registration, we were denied access to Bonn zone since our passes technically start on the second week—Nov.13th. Bureaucracy… I wonder if COP organizing countries exchange technical and logistical experience, because there are obvious bottlenecks that will continue occurring year after year unless particular regulations are put in place.
Being turned away and obviously frustrated, we semi-enthusiastically peeked at the outside installations that were soaking in the drops of lazy rain. Several minutes later, we stumbled upon a conference venue with a big sign saying “Renewable Energy Day.” We decided to check it out—the hosts inside looked welcoming, so why not give it a try?
As it often happen and was once well said by Shakespeare: “Sometimes not getting what you want is the best stroke of luck”. We ended up spending the entire day listening to private sector perspectives on renewable energy while getting a full, on-demand catering service. On top of the unexpected surprises, we ran into Melissa Hortman (DFL), a minority leader of the Minnesota House of Representative. It was extra fun to exchange our impressions and thoughts, and enjoy a funny, unpretentious, but also confident speech of the governor of California, Jerry Brown. His spoke towards the end of the conference, and the audience seemed to perceive him like a messiah— “Tell us what to do, and we’ll follow!” Apart from several mocking asides towards the Trump’s administration, Jerry Brown highlighted successful California’s legislative efforts and encouraged the private sector to step in with collaborative, principle-driven leadership.
Asides from a few participating politicians and a panel featuring municipal mayors from several countries, the conference gave voice to private energy sector representatives. In their presentations, I noticed a recurring concept of disruption, or paradigm shift, which CEOs and energy industry leaders described as being “beyond the governement imagination”. It was clear that they were pushing the neo-liberal discourse of pure market regulation, glorifying the invisible hand that will determine the best climate solutions. I also noted how the speakers dismissed experts as “prisoners of the past,” suggesting that “prescriptive” government regulations which are based on fixed expert opinions obstruct rapid innovation and ultimately hurt renewable energy efforts.
The theme continues when the panelists were asked about one policy they would change, and all of them unanimously said they need “more flexibility” to participate in the markets and promote energy transformation. They certainly have a point—many emerging economies and transitioning governments have rigid regulations that discourage investment in non-traditional energy sources. Yet we know from the previous lessons that without government regulations renewable energy transition would not have taken place at all. So it seemed that private sector was manipulating traditional capitalist rhetoric to give it a more environmentally conscious face. Many speakers emphasized that we should not consume more but instead should make our energy consumption more efficient. Sounds good, but then all of the speakers mentioned that in their view energy industry should transform from “dirty, backward” utility supply to service bunding. To me, cultivating demand for additional services sounds exactly like stimulating consumption. Another recurring theme from the energy sector was the excitement for the opportunities to tap into the emerging markets in the lower income countries under the umbrella of SDG goals of universal energy access. This got me thinking about the dangers of repeating the same mistakes of corporate monopolistic exploitation of vulnerable countries and communities we’ve seen in other sectors in the past.
Overall, explicitly pro-market discourse dominated the conference, and I was particularly alarmed when one of the speakers said that we do not need policy, but instead our love for the planet will lead us forward. Such post-political framing that capitalizes on normative dimensions of many ecological philosophies should be disconcerting if we think about the future of the private energy sector and its wider role in multidimensional sustainable development, beyond just energy-related goals.
1. Godfrey BK Kabbyanga from Uganda speaking about the urban energy policies in Kasese county, Western Uganda on the panel of city mayors.2. Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post (DP) talking about DP’s electric vans for post delivery and his views on e-commerce footprint.3. Shu Ginbiao and Zhiang Lei discussing China’s renewable energy initiatives.
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