Evolving Institutional Structures for Sustainable Development: Connecting Macro Policy with Grassroots Action
Rajendra K. Pachauri, Director-General, The Energy and Resources Institute; Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Albert Fishlow: Thank you very much, Jomo, and now we move on, and we have an opportunity to hear from Rajendra Pachauri who is Director General of the Energy and Resources Institute which conducts research and provides professional support in the areas of energy, environment, forestry, biotechnology and conservation of natural resources. In 2002 he was elected Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. And in 2001 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India for his contributions to the environment. He is also President of the India Habitat Center. It's a great pleasure to have the opportunity to hear from Dr. Pachauri this afternoon who will be speaking about Evolving Institutional Structures for Sustainable Development: Connecting Macropolicy with Grassroots Action.

Rajendra Pachauri: Let me at the very outset thank Jeffrey Sachs for giving me this privilege. It's also a great pleasure for me to speak on a subject which is a little different from climate change, as often I am required to speak on climate change and I travel around all over the place, and I start by apologizing for the airline emissions that I may have induced as a result. But I have no reason to feel apologetic this time because there's Jeff Sachs over here, he travels far more than I do, so my crimes bail into insignificance on that account.

Our distinguished moderator talked about democracy. And what I'm going to essentially drive at is the need for us to think of a new form of democracy whereby those who are not empowered and are yet in a position where they can make a difference to this planet unfortunately don't get the kind of attention that they should. I might also start by referring to two very important statements among the many that Jeffrey Sachs made earlier this morning. He said technological solutions will be required in key areas. And I believe sustainable development has to be seen in the context of the kinds of technological innovations that can be brought into place. He also said that there are some governments that can't absorb science yet. Unfortunately there are societies that can't absorb science yet, and often you'll find that societies that can't absorb science yet remain static in the pursuit of development of any kind, and sustainable development certainly.

Now what I'm going to do is basically talk about the international context, then some of the national challenges, and then I'd like to focus on some very down to earth, grassroots issues.

Now there are some concerns that we have on the state of the planet. One of the economists that I respected greatly and he's no more, but I have the highest regard for his contributions to the field of economic science, was Kenneth Boulding. He said it's doubtful whether 200 years ago the richest country had a per capita real income more than five times that of the poorest. Today the difference between per capita income for the richest countries and for the poorest is of the order of 1 is to 50. Now this was written about a quarter century ago, and things have become much worse over a period of time.

Another statement that I'd like to place before you is something that you might feel has been said in the context of 9/11, and what it basically talks about is the fact that victory is totally incomplete if you don't deal with the issue of poverty and tackling the challenges on the economic and social front. But you'd be surprised, this was a statement made by Edward Stettinius who was the US Secretary of State in 1945, that was in the wake of the Second World War. It seems we haven't really taken to heart some of the lessons that were apparent even sixty years. And therefore what I would submit is that we should also focus on the expanding ecological footprint of human activities, because they are intermingled with the problem of poverty, and as Dr. Sundaram before me said in the context of what's happening in India with the farmers being subjected to problems of climate change, high credit, and the other challenges that they have to encounter, have actually been committing suicides in recent times. And these kinds of problems are likely to increase in the future, as we see the impacts of climate change and other ecological disasters affecting the lives of people.

This is a picture that I'd like to show you from the WWF Living Planet Report, which essentially gives you the trend in the ecological footprint of humanity. And if you look at the regional distribution of this footprint there is a vast distinction between different societies. But what one needs to worry about is the portion that's indicated for Asia. If Asia was to follow anything similar to what you see in the more sort of developed societies then I think the planet is in serious trouble. And this was a point that I think Jeffrey Sachs made effectively in a very eloquent manner this morning, it's important for the countries of Asia and other regions of the world that are developing rapidly to ensure that we do so in a manner that doesn't necessarily in any way slow down the benefits of economic growth, but certainly does so by minimizing the footprint of our development activities.

Now an important component of this footprint is what would happen with water, and the withdrawals of water by region in 2001 are also worrisome because, as we were told this morning, we certainly don't have a crisis on our hands and hopefully there won't be any wars over water, but the kinds of tensions that are likely to arise and the impoverishment that would take place as a result of the scarcity of water is something that we need to avoid at all cost.

Now there are some conceptual weaknesses in meeting the MDGs. One of them is the fact that important inputs and related developments, like in the energy sector, are largely neglected. They are not explicitly stated as part of the MDGs. But if you look at any of the MDGs I think a very important component of development and strategies by which we might be able to meet them would relate to actions that are required in the energy sector. And we have also not fully taken into account the natural resources implications of meeting the MDGs, and there are choices over here that need to be articulated, and we have not clearly looked at the ecological implications. And there is of course the vitally important element of technology development and innovation, which is not receiving attention at all. Nor is the challenge of human resource development receiving the kind of attention that's required.

And last, but certainly not least, and I would say perhaps the most important, is the fact that there is no upward flow of knowledge and experience. The fact that the MDGs were adopted through a very successful international process somehow seems to have left the world with the impression that all that is needed is a top-downwards kind of approach. But that's certainly not going to work. I think ultimately unless there is a flow of knowledge, experience, and learning from bottom upwards we are not going to be able to get anywhere. And there is of course the usual problem of relying on business as usual, and therefore a total lack of innovation in what we are doing. This is where I think institutional changes are going to be vitally important.

What's missing internationally? We've heard Carol Bellamy telling us very clearly about some of the issues related over here, and I was delighted to hear about the emphasis that she placed on the political context of what's happening in the UN system, and we seem to lose sight of that on occasions. But there is as far as the MDGs are concerned a lack of assessment of progress and innovation, and I think at the international level an effective means by which we can monitor progress being achieved in different parts of the world can certainly lead to action. Then the Zedillo Panel which came up with recommendations, undoubtedly these are being paid attention, but I'm afraid we have lost some of the major focal points of those recommendations because resources and the manner in which they're deployed and the manner in which they're generated are critical to the meeting of the MDGs.

Now this is where I would quote Jeff Sachs where he said extreme poverty can be ended, not in the time of our grandchildren but our time. And we really can't afford to wait for ending poverty either in the lifetimes of our children or our grandchildren, we have to end it now because I think the price we would pay otherwise would be extremely high. And we also need a connection across agencies in the international system. It's happening to some extent but one knows the gaps and weaknesses that exist. And ultimately I think meeting the MDGs is going to depend essentially on how effectively we're able to mobilize relevant knowledge in this entire field.

What missing at the national level? Articulation of focused programs, the same problem that you see at the international level also is evident at the national level where there's a lack of connection between ministries and departments, each one pursuing very narrow goals without looking at the synergies, without looking at the interrelationships between them. And of course a lack of bottom-upwards initiatives. There's a total lack of technological innovation. If you look at something like water and sanitation most of the programs are driven purely by a business as usual approach. There is very little built into these programs in terms of what kinds of technological innovations should be a part of the whole action that is conceptualized.

Now may I focus on an area which I think needs a great deal of attention? And I should preface my explanation by saying that while we talk about specific MDGs and how we might meet them there is the need to carry out a generalized strengthening of capacities and institutional capabilities at the grassroots level. And this would require going beyond merely the MDGs, because if you create the capabilities on a general sense and on a general plane then clearly you would create the conditions by which the specific MDGs could be addressed. And I want before you the need for carrying out a modernization of traditional industry, because this is how incomes will grow, this is how capabilities will be enhanced, and this is how local communities might be able to address the challenges of the MDGs.

And I want to focus on a specific industry, just as a case study, the case of brick production in India. Now brick production in India is carried out through a technology which is known as the Bull's trench kiln. This was devised and engineered perhaps 150 years ago by a certain Colonel Bull who was a Britisher during colonial times, came up with an excellent design, but somehow this has remained as part of the Indian scene over the last 150 years. Now what's the significance of brick production in India? There are 140 billion bricks that are produced a year. And this will increase as this building boom that we see today grows even bigger. There are about 100,000 rural enterprises that produce bricks. It employs eight million people. The annual turnover is over three billion US dollars. It consumes twenty-four million tons of coal, but it also consumes a substantial amount of biomass. This is the amount of CO2 that's generated. This is what a typical brick making enterprise looks like. It's generally carried out in rural areas in open spaces. What are the sustainability concerns in this? There's air pollution, there's a loss of topsoil because that soil is used for brick making. There's a large quantity of ??? emissions, energy is used inefficiently, and of course there are very poor working conditions and enormous amount of drudgery.

Now under these conditions you really can not create capacity for innovation of any kind, and you really do not ensure that the footprint of expansion of this kind of enterprise will be at all benign on the resources of the Earth. This is a typical picture of a brick in operation. This is how bricks are stacked and how people work under these conditions. Now we have found a technical solution, we've come up with something called the vertical shaft brick kiln, which leads to coal savings of about 30 to 50%, a 50% reduction of air pollution, and a semi-mechanization of the brick making process. Now this reduces drudgery, brings about savings, and you can also produce better designs of bricks. I'm only highlighting this as one example of several that exist in the developing world of enterprises that have not changes for tens and perhaps a hundred years in some cases. Now this is what a vertical shaft brick kiln looks like, and it's being adopted on a larger and larger scale progressively. And you can also produce much better quality bricks as a result.

Now I also want to give you quickly two other examples, and these relate to the use of renewable sources of energy, photovoltaics in particular. Now in order to make this possible in a typical village setting you have to create an institutional infrastructure. And our purpose in doing this in a number of villages in India has been to ensure that whatever is sold is sold through the market, without subsidies. You need to create local entrepreneurial initiatives, you need to create capacity for people to be able to sell and repair some of these devices. And what is critically important is to be able to customize products to meet the specific needs of the people.

Now this is a pretty elaborate structure which I won't go into detail in the interests of time, but what I want to tell you is that even for one single village if you want to create capacity by which you create a sustainable enterprise then there has to be enough financial input in terms of finances that could be provided by microfinance institutions and so on, you need technical inputs, you need manufacture of panels that could be provided at the village level, and of course you need some technical inputs for coming up with the right kinds of designs. Now the key features of the projects are of course you create an umbrella brand so that people become aware that there is something new that's on the scene, you need customization of the technology, easy credit has to be made available, all of this is available these days in most developing countries, and you need capacity building of stakeholders, repair and maintenance, infrastructure. I just want to show you a few pictures of the kinds of options that can be used. This is a solar flashlight or solar torch, which is sold on a large scale in rural areas. This is a solar fan, customized for ??? where they have need for cooling, solar water heater which is pretty standard, mini lantern…

…with this solar device she is relieved of the drudgery and can get a much better product.

Now finally I want to give you an example of the need for bringing about innovation in the building sector.

“…is as Earth friendly as an old windmill. But to understand what Terry did to make it different we would have to know that the complex generates its own electricity. All of its energy comes from a biomass gasifier and photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight into electricity. The complex saves 40% energy every year compared to a conventional building. Retreat also acts as a training facility for different organizations. The twenty-four rooms in the complex have all modern day comforts, including air cooling and heating. But interestingly, the air cooling happens through an underground tunnel system, again a feature of many traditional monuments of India. It has been scientifically proven that temperatures at four meters below the ground remain constant throughout the year. This property of the Earth has been used to heat and cool the residential rooms in the Retreat building. There are four tunnels of concrete pipes which are laid at a depth of four meters below the Earth's surface. As the air is pushed through the tunnel by the fans there is an exchange of heat between the air and the surrounding Earth. Hence, during the summer the air gets cooled up to 28° Celsius, and during winters it gets heated up to 22° Celsius. This air is in turn circulated to the rooms by using a fan. The rooms have an outlet in the form of solar chimneys. And all the extra investment in the tunnel system paid back in the first year of its operation. The Retreat building incurred an additional investment of 7% compared to a similar conventional building, but thanks to its sustainable design the complex already saves 40% energy every year.”

Okay, it's time for me to come to my final slide. I just wanted to say that the building sector in the developing countries, particularly in my country and in China, is going through a period of enormous boom. But we are not paying any attention to these structures that are going to lock us into high energy intensity for a long period of time. So my submission is that we need to focus on creating capacity, knowledge, and use innovation whereby at least whatever development takes place happens without imposing a further burden on the Earth's natural resources.

Now I would like to sum up by saying that we need to listen to local voices, highlight local solutions, design programs and projects for local conditions, and create local capacity. We need to revive the spirit of the WSSD partnerships. We seem to have forgotten those. And the assessment of progress and state of relevant knowledge is to be a continuous requirement.

And I'll now turn to the final picture. We need to set up knowledge portals and access systems, and use the MDGs for institutional overhaul. And finally, this is what Gandhi said, “Democracy must in essence therefore mean the art and science of mobilizing the entire physical, economic, and spiritual resources of the various sections of the people in the service of the common good of all.” So democracy, may I submit finally, is not merely holding elections at the national level, it really has to be much deeper and requires a much firmer commitment to improving the lot of people at the basic grassroots level.

Thank you very much.