Something that drives me nuts is when people use the example of developing economies such as China or India as an excuse for inactivity on climate change - the "what's the bloody point" argument, which insists that any savings we might make in CO2 emissions using renewables will be more than cancelled out by their use of dirty energy. It's not that there's not an element of truth in this - it's the refusal to recognise that we in the west have any influence or responsibility in the matter. After all, a key driver in India and China's rapid development is our insatiable demand for insanely cheap products - which forces them to use the clapped out and dirty technlogies we are trying to break away from.
Rather than wringing our hands we should be helping these emerging giants to apply new cleaner technologies. China has already taken a big step by agreeing to phase out traditional energy hungry light bulbs within the next 10 years , and now Greenpeace India is hoping to persuade the sub-continent to follow suit by launching its own 'Ban the Bulb' campaign. By banning energy guzzling incandescent light bulbs, India can cut its carbon dioxide emissions by a whopping 55 million tones. This is a simple, quick and doable step and would lead to a 4 per cent cut in the nation's carbon dioxide emissions.
Which is why Greenpeace activists made a very visual statement yesterday in one of India's greatest cities, Kolkata. Situated on the River Hooghly and the Bay of Bengal, Kolkata is extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts, particularly rising sea levels. Using floating life rings they created a massive 50 m 'Ban the Bulb' message - visible from the city's major bridges, and demanded that the government act to phase out energy guzzling incandescents by 2010.
But replacing all power crazy bulbs with CFLs is just one of the suggestions in an new Greenpeace report 'Energy [R]evolution: A sustainable Energy Outlook for India'. The report shows how renewable energy, combined with energy efficiency from the 'smart use' of energy, can deliver half of India's primary energy needs by 2050. It provides a practical blueprint for reducing India's carbon dioxide emissions while providing a secure, affordable energy supply. This is a project that can and must be succeed - bringing India and China into the climate change debate is absolutely crucial if we're to have any chance of success in keeping global warming to a minimum - and fortunately its starting to happen.
Take action: email India's Minister of Power and asking him to ban power crazy incandescent bulbs.
