Although immensely painful, hardship is often a powerful driver of change.

Crises have crafted our economic development paths, designed our political global institutions, and defined social norms. Thus despite the unthinkable tragedy the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, it may provide us with a path forward, to “build back better” as it’s been said. And nowhere is that chance greater than with leaving the fossil-fuel economy behind.

Green investments are rated by economists as having a higher multiplier effect[1], and multilateral development banks (i.e. the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund) have adopted green standards to guide their financing decisions. The recovery seems set to be green.

Cities, of course, are privileged places for climate action to take place. They are responsible for 67% of all energy consumption across the globe and 75% of all CO2 emissions, besides concentrating 55% of the world population[2]. According to a 2019 report from REN 21 entitled “Renewables in Cities,” heating and cooling, transport and power are the three main sectors were energy is consumed in urban areas. Strategic action there can promote substantial changes to revert climate change, and improve quality of life, equity, and economic development for all.

The COVID-19 crisis, paired with the international and financial capital direction towards climate-friendly investments, opens an opportunity for developing countries to grow through renewables. With its megacity urbanisation model, major social inequalities and increasing share of CO2 emissions, the adoption of renewable energy standards by cities in middle- and low-income countries (MIC, LIC) might be a driver of development. Previous experiences with the expansion of accessible energy sources increased life quality standards and reduced emissions while promoting economic progress.

In this brief article, I’ll present some policy ideas from cities in emerging economies which have the potential to “build back better”. Considering the three strategic sectors of renewables in cities mentioned before, here are some case studies to show policymakers from the Global South how they can go for renewables now.

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Heating and cooling

The high temperatures in developing countries and the increases associated with climate change pose the challenge of sustainable cooling systems. These demand a lot of energy, which is particularly problematic when the sources are not sustainable. A growing number of cities have set renewable energy targets, but they are concentrated in Europe and North America, areas that have higher economic wealth and temperate-to-cold climates. For instance, 60-80% of all energy in Buenos Aires (Argentina), Delhi (India), Tehran (Iran), Dhaka (Bangladesh) goes to cooling, yet either they timidly target energy provision through renewables, or do not at all. [3]

To reduce the need of cooling and to improve the life quality of inhabitants, some cities invested in projects which aim to naturally “refresh” the town. Take the case of Medellin Alcadia.

The green corridor initiative not only promoted economic growth, but also made the city more attractive. In sum, it created networks of greenery across the city through the making of 30 “green corridors.” They connect existing green spaces to target the ‘urban heat island ‘effect, aiming to reduce up to two Celsius degrees the ambient temperature. The initiative received local and international appraisal, but its focus on low-income areas backfired, provoking the so-called “greentrification.” The poorest inhabitants of the area were pushed out of their former neighbourhoods due to the increase of the land value[4]—a lesson that must be addressed by governments who want to replicate similar initiatives. 

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Power

According to IRENA, 95% of the cities that have the highest solar potential (i.e., cities in the top 10% for global horizontal irradiance, or GHI) do not have a set target for supporting renewable energy development. Most of the cities within this energy potential are in developing regions, and despite the abundance of sunlight, their current energy grid (or, rather, the lack of a sustainable one) leads to constant shortages. The sunny Lagos in Nigeria, for example, consumes three times more energy than its main power plant, sourced by gas, can provide [5]. No wander blackouts became the rule, not the exception. 

Since 2009, the average costs of solar PV has fallen 80%, while the costs of battery storage technologies are decreasing rapidly and could decline a further 60% over the coming decade [6].  In India, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) owns PV systems and installed them in 55 rooftops of public buildings, making the selling of their energy to others a source of profit for their own budget [7]. Kisumu, in Kenya, will have a power plant which will substantially increase the offering of energy in the whole country through a public-private partnership with two foreign companies. The cost per Kwh will be 30% lower than the average (8.5 to 5.5 cents/kWh), sourced mostly by geothermic power plants. Not a coincidence that Kisumu became one of the few cities in the developing world to set the ambitious target of being 100% renewable by 2023.

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Transportation

Urban transport attributes 37% of all CO2 global emissions [8]. The tendency of cities towards motorization and the increased affordability of private vehicles contribute not only to pollution, but also, chaotic traffic in the Global South megacities. Public transportation might be seen with disdain due to social stigma, and the lack of proper infrastructure corroborates the adoption of individual transport choices [9].

Many cities are using their purchasing and investment power to reduce transport environmental effects while fostering the adoption of new technologies. Such procurement decisions can positively influence their technological advance and support industrial development. Kolkata (India) developed a pilot project for buses running on locally produced biogas from animal and human waste, with the low cost of the fuel being a main driver of the initiative [10]. Similarly, with the financial support of the Green Climate Fund, Karachi in Pakistan, which now scores as the worst public transportation in the world, will implement a fleet of 200 buses fuelled by cow pow[11]. Lola, in Ecuador, established that new taxis permits would only be issued for electric vehicles—a decision that was supported by the offering of a conditional credit-line of $43 million by the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) to the purchase of electric buses and taxis in Ecuador [12].

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The Global South has an important role to play on building climate justice as its many inequalities urge for sustainable solutions. The target of financial institutions in green alternatives opens up a set of opportunities for cities from developing countries to invest in renewables, which can improve life quality standards and address climate change concerns. By seeing what has been done, it is with high hopes that decision-makers will be inspired to act.

Polly Lima is a Brazilian lawyer who holds a Master’s of Public Policy from the University of Oxford. Previously she was the head of the public-private partnership unit in the State of Maranhao, where she led different projects for infrastructure financing and social development. She was recognized by UNOPS as one the leading female professionals in infrastructure in Brazil (2019), and currently she is placed at OECD, where she assesses the performance of multilateral organizations.

Sources

[1] https://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/publications/wpapers/workingpaper20-02.pdf

[2] https://www.ren21.net/reports/cities-global-status-report/

[3] https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2016/IRENA_Renewable_Energy_in_Cities_2016.pdf

[4] https://ecologyaction.ca/sites/default/files/images-documents/Building%20Back%20Better%20Article%202020%20E%26A.pdf

[5] https://guardian.ng/business-services/lagos-suffer-shortfall-of-electricity-supply/

[6] https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2016/IRENA_Renewable_Energy_in_Cities_2016.pdf

[7] https://www.ren21.net/reports/cities-global-status-report/

[8] https://www.c2es.org/site/assets/uploads/2002/05/transportation_overview.pdf

[9] https://www.c2es.org/site/assets/uploads/2002/05/transportation_overview.pdf

[10] https://www.ren21.net/reports/cities-global-status-report/

[11] https://www.greenclimate.fund/project/fp085

[12] https://www.latinfinance.com/daily-briefs/2020/12/11/idb-finances-electric-cars-in-ecuador