Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/470920
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 1 MARCH 2015 15 have lots of available land to experi- ment with some of these initiatives. But if you look at where solar power is going – the advances in technol- ogy, the prices coming down by sig- nificant percentage points year after year… we're reaching a point where, if trends continue, within five years solar will be competitive with con- ventional energy, even without sub- sidies. "Installations are getting smaller and smaller, and more efficient. I can anticipate a future where Malta will be saving a lot of money by in- vesting in solar power. Energy costs could theoretically come down dra- matically. I know there's been a lot of talk about wind, both onshore and offshore… I'm a bit sceptical about offshore wind, because I think it will always require quite big subsidies; and I can't imagine Malta embracing onshore wind farms on a large scale. I don't see that as being politically possible, and it may not be techni- cally possible either. Things like community energy, solar power, are more feasible…" They can also be a shrewd econom- ic investment, he adds. "I saw an Overseas Development Index figure for the Caribbean, but I'm not sure I fully believe it. If the Caribbean were to move towards re- newables and interconnected grids, they'd have a potential savings of 32 billion dollars. I haven't drilled into those figures yet – I will do – but there's no doubt there are savings to be made there." Elsewhere, we could also learn from the experience of Spain's marine re- serves. "Malta is an island with a vi- brant fishing community. An area of focus for me, if I were a Maltese poli- tician, would be to try and establish a network of marine protected areas to boost the fishing industry and also ensure a future for the fish. That's something I know is already very much on the agenda…" But while all this can be discussed, the CHOG meeting will take place against a stark backdrop of war and instability on all fronts. Security may be even less of a remit for the Com- monwealth than climate change; but doesn't CHOGM also represent an opportunity to debate the present (and possible future) threat of war and terrorism? Goldsmith points out how the sus- tainability thread runs right across security issues, too. "It's very relevant to what we're talking about. The two issues go hand in hand. For example, if you look at the poaching of elephants… we are facing a situation where, if trends continue, within 10, 15 years there'll be no more wild African el- ephants. But it's also a terrorism is- sue. Some of the worst organisations in the world are funded directly from the sale of ivory. Al Shabaab, which is responsible for the appalling atroci- ties in Nairobi; Boko Haram, an or- ganisation which has unfortunately come to prominence recently; Su- dan's Janjaweed... all these organisa- tions are funded, sometimes entirely, through the illegal wildlife trade." Piracy in the Gulf of Aden is an- other example. "If you look at Soma- lia, which is a major concern from a terrorism point of view, and also in terms of trade. It is very expensive to pass by their waters. There is a di- rect, unarguable correlation between the collapse of their marine environ- ment, and the rise of piracy. A direct line between the two: so we have to think very carefully about what we're doing on the coast of Senegal. "By 'we' I mean all of us – there are European as well as Japanese and Russian boats fishing off West Africa. In Senegal, there are 50,000 fishing families; they have boats, they understand the water, they have children to feed… but their fish are being plundered. They've lost 80% of their fish in 10 years, and it will be 100% unless someone intervenes. What are those 50,000 families go- ing to do? They've made it very clear: they have told their representatives that they will go the way of Somalia. And that's a massive trade and se- curity issue. We're creating a breed- ing ground for exactly the problems you've just described." Ultimately, he argues that the sus- tainability challenge affects all as- pects of daily life, from business to health to ecology, all the way down to international peace. "I think the environment and se- curity are absolutely the same issue. Logically, if we fail to live within our means, if we don't find a way to do that globally, then we're going to see an increase in resource nationalism as well. We're already seeing hints of that in Europe at the moment. And it's something we can very much ex- pect to increase, unless we somehow achieve a balance with the natural world around us." Interview Not according to UK MP Zac Goldsmith, who addressed the Commonwealth Business Forum earlier this month. But it can at least help point us in the right direction the world?