| Sustainability


Far left: Protesters hold an anti-Mae Wong Dam rally in September 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand. Steiner says that his experience with the World Commission on Dams profoundly changed his understanding of issues that often divide society © p_jirawat


with the ecosystem, not destroying the ecological infrastructure that is fundamental for us to survive – never mind generate power and food production across the world.


So how can we help to change the way we use


water and produce energy? It is all down to the economy within which we operate, Steiner says. Much of the paradigm of development has been driven by the economic view that is more akin to an extractive industry. He explains that we have essentially taken what the planet provides us with, achieved a high level of development but somehow have always had this assumption that we would be less dependent on the natural systems around us. “Here we are, the most technologically advanced generation in human history, and yet we are thrown back to first world phenomenon such as climate change – in the last few months we have seen the catastrophic effects this has. Simple things like floods and fires are beginning to threaten the very foundation of the wealth and infrastructure we have created. The first focus has to be on the economic paradigm that informs both consumption and production, and here,” Steiner stresses, “we are being far too slow.” There is a whole litany of issues, the United Nations Development Programme Administrator went on to explain. For example, is GDP a good indicator of growth? Is growth itself something that defines


successful development? Right down to the kind of taxation system where we continue to tax one of the best things we have in our society– work. Steiner says that we continue to tax work as the continual source of revenue for public fiscal policy. Yet there has been debate for years about shifting the burden of taxation away to taxing the barriers that undermine our economic and human wellbeing, such as environmental tax reforms and fossil fuel subsidies. We are in the midst of seeing entire economies shift


to renewable energy platforms, Steiner admits, adding that “in less than a generation we have seen perhaps the most profound technological advances”. However, he warns, we are on “a frighteningly short timeline with climate change”.


“It is time. Time. Time,” he repeats. “It is a race against time that we find ourselves in again today. Our challenge is a race against time and not ultimately about how to power and sustain eight to nine billion people on this planet. We are perfectly capable of doing that, but we have to transform our economics from production to consumption.” Steiner believes that the decarbonisation pathway is the only way where we have a chance to get to grips with climate change, and that can in turn provide us with solutions that benefit many – such as bringing back ecosystems and reducing pollution and premature death from fossil fuel pollution. f


Left: We are on a frighteningly short timeline with climate change, Steiner says, and we must transform our economics from production to consumption


Wise words: Achim Steiner shared his thoughts on various aspects of project development


● We live in a different age where we cannot simply make decisions about indigenous people in the name of national development….. A lot has been learnt in recent years and I think that sometimes it has led to the decision to not build a dam, and on other occasions has actually produced a dam that very few people would argue was a bad choice.


● National planning is an extraordinary responsibility. There is always temptation for a newly elected government to want to do something in four years. In water resources planning a four-year government elected cycle is an anathema to long term sustainable planning.


● Inter-disciplinary ideas are not new. How you translate that competence into public planning and the public decision-making process is still something we are struggling with in many parts of the world.


● Resolving disagreements in court is the last resort. Unfortunately, the reason why we end up in these complete stand-offs is that we begin far too late to think about smart solutions. There are going to be losses sometimes in nature. When you build something, you are converting land into something else. The question is does it have to be a net negative outcome or can you do other things? I’m not arguing that mitigation can solve everything, but design can solve certain aspects.


● I was amazed a couple of years ago to find out that the vast majority of Ministries of Finance around world did not have one climate expert working there. You can only scratch your head and ask how is that possible?


● People need to have evidence to make informed decisions. Software development may sound geeky but it actually allows us to make the consequences of different choices much more evident.


● More often than not we (UNDP) help countries to realise there is power in people being engaged in development, and in making development choices and decisions.


www.waterpowermagazine.com | December 2021 | 21


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