This week, a big question on my mind has been – can countries move towards development without sacrificing their environmental integrity? India has a draft of an act on the environmental impact of industrial and development projects – the Environment Impact Assessment – out for public feedback right now. This act will loosen environmental regulations on industries and remove an existing requirement of public consultation on projects that significantly impact the environment. In short, this act will set us back decades in the fight against climate change. As citizens rally on social media to sign petitions to oppose the act, I can’t help but wonder – what is the right way into the future?
Most developed countries in the world, including the United States, have gotten to where they are by exploiting the environment. The dominant view is that countries should initially focus on economic growth even if it comes at the expense of the environment; later, as they become developed, they can clean up pollution from the past. This is the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis, which postulates that economic growth will eventually be good for the environment. However, there is little evidence to support the EKC hypothesis. Critics say that exploitation of the environment can often kick-start irreversible processes that countries cannot fix later. Often, wealthier countries shift the locus of pollution to low-income countries by moving their manufacturing hubs there and importing goods. We need to do away with the idea that we are permitted to pollute and exploit relentlessly, in hope of someday fixing the damage.
Fourth World Nation Building
Sandra Kwak, the founder and CEO of 10Power*, talks about the apparent incompatibility between traditional ideas of growth and environmental sustainability in this TED talk. She says that if every one of us on the Earth had an aspiration of a First World lifestyle (taking the United States as a model), we would require five Planet Earths. We seem to be looking at development backwards – the First World is only the first at creating linear waste, generating CO2 emissions and perpetuating unconscious consumerism. Our ideal, according to Kwak, should not be the First World, but what she calls the Fourth World. Least developed countries are actually the closest to the ideal of a thriving, regenerative Planet Earth, because they have not yet invested billions of dollars in infrastructure that exploits fossil fuels and creates harmful emissions. These countries hold the potential to take our planet in a different direction by investing in regenerative, renewable technologies, smart agriculture, and people-centered empowering policies. This is the ideal Fourth World – a world of abundance, in which we move closer to nature rather than away from it.
Costa Rica’s Success in Sustainable Development
Costa Rica has been a pioneer in green policies and is showing the world that sustainability and growth can and must go hand in hand. The small Central American country has pledged to decarbonize its economy by 2050; according to President Carlos Alvarado Quesada, “the decarbonization plan consists of maintaining an upward curve in terms of economic growth and at the same time generating a downward curve in the use of fossil fuels, in order to stop polluting.” The country plans to achieve this ambitious goal by electrifying transport and investing in sustainable waste management, cities run on clean energy, and intelligent agriculture.
Costa Rica’s record is impressive – more than 98% of its energy is renewable, more than 53% of its landmass is forest cover, and a quarter of its land has been turned into protected parks and reserves. The country also abolished its military over 70 years ago and has used the savings from defense spending to provide mandatory free education and healthcare. The constitution guarantees its citizens the right to a healthy environment.
So,what is behind this success? The right combination of ethics, environmentalism, and effective policy-making. The government has invested in its people – all people – instead of allowing those at the top to dominate the conversation. The focus on empowering people by giving away plots of land has reduced inequality and encouraged ethical agriculture.
While lessons from Costa Rica cannot be blindly applied to other countries, it has clearly demonstrated to the world that economic growth and sustainability do not have to be decoupled. Environmentally-conscious decision-making will not only heal the environment, but also benefit the community.
As for India, I have faith in the power of the judiciary and young people to catalyze positive change for the sake of our environment. While there are lessons to be learnt from Costa Rica, India has a very unique challenge when it comes to sustainable development because of the sheer size of the population. Experts say that India trying to develop sustainably successfully will be a trailblazing effort for the world simply because it hasn’t been done before in a country of India’s size. I hope to see it happen in my lifetime.
*The author is currently an intern at 10Power.
sustainable development costa rica; sustainable development costa rica; sustainable development costa rica
