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Friday, 20 February 2015 14:00

Greening the Economy : Mauritius on the right path

Written by  Leena Gooraya

Mauritius ranks 23rd in the fourth edition of the Global Green Economy Index 2014. In

fact, it is the first time our country  features in this report, which looks at how 60

countries perform in the global green economy, as well as how expert practitioners rank

this performance. Mauritius is listed well ahead of countries like Italy (25), Canada (29),

Malaysia (35), UAE (40), Japan (44) and Poland (56). Does this indicate that our

economy is indeed ‘greening up’?  How can we further improve?  News on Sunday met

a team of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Mauritius to have a clearer view on

this issue.

The term “green economy” appeared 20 years ago in the report “Blueprint for a Green

Economy”.  Since then, interest in a green transition has evolved and intensified. The United

Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) defines the green economy as: “An economy that

results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing

environmental risks and ecological scarcities.” At the operational level, the green economy is

seen as one whose growth in income and employment is driven by investments that achieve

the following objectives:

Reduce carbon emissions and pollution

Targeted policy mechanisms, technical and financial assistance as well as a review of

concessionary tariffs will attract private finance to the renewable energy and energy

efficiency sectors, and thus reducing carbon emissions. The transport sector can also play an

important role in the reduction of carbon emissions. A shift to environmentally-efficient

modes of public transport; increasing pedestrian roads and incentivise the use of bicycles are

measures that can help green the Mauritian transport sector. An increase in level of waste

recycling and composting would imply that smaller quantities of domestic, industrial,

agricultural and commercial waste landfilled, with positive impacts on environmental and

human health.

Enhance energy and resource efficiency

In 2013, around 85% of the total primary energy requirement was met from imported

petroleum products and coal, while about 15% was obtained from local renewable sources

namely: hydro, wind, landfill gas, photovoltaic and bagasse.  Bagasse contributed around

92% of the local renewable sources while hydro, wind, landfill gas, photovoltaic and

fuelwood accounted for the remaining 8%. There is the potential to increase the efficient use

of bagasse and use of cane tops for energy production.  In 2013 photovoltaic solar energy

represented less than 0.2% of total energy use. Small independent power producers (SIPPs)

should be encouraged to produce and use electricity from photovoltaic, micro-hydro and

wind turbines and export the extra electricity to the grid. Financial incentives for the

development of the market for solar water heating systems could be increased.

Prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services

In Mauritius, agriculture is a sector which can help maintain the ecosystems through soil

formation, water regulation and carbon sequestration. Mauritius has a huge potential for

development of ecotourism. Incentives to induce investment in environmental friendly

projects, especially on the part of small local promoters, should be encouraged. These

investments need to be catalysed and supported by targeted public expenditure, policy

reforms and regulation changes to create the “enabling conditions” for a green economy.

According to UNEP, priority areas for policy-making to create such enabling conditions

include: addressing environmental externalities and existing market failures; limiting

government spending in areas that deplete natural capital; promoting investment and

spending in areas stimulating a green economy; establishing sound regulatory frameworks;

and international frameworks that regulate economic activity (UNEP 2011).

Why does our economy need to “green up”?

According to our speakers, a common purpose of green policies and investments is the

maintenance, enhancement and rebuilding of natural capital as a critical economic asset and

source of public benefits. Protecting natural resources, from clean freshwater to forests and

air, is especially important for poor people who depend on these resources for their

livelihoods and are especially vulnerable to environmental contamination and degradation.

The green economy can be seen as an action-oriented pathway to sustainable development.

The traditional patterns of economic development are now seen as a key cause for current

economic and financial instability, environmental degradation, and persisting poverty. There

is need for urgent evolutionary action to achieve sustainable development. The past century’s

need less consumption of resources is, to use UN Secretary General’s words, “a global

suicide pact” with time running out to ensure an economic model for survival.

Can a small island like Mauritius meet the challenges?

Mauritius faces major development challenges typical of middle–income Small Island

Developing States (SIDS) such as environmental vulnerability and exposure to natural

disasters, coastal zone erosion, endangered species, reduction in forest coverage, decrease in

fish stocks, and water shortages. In order to support Mauritius’s transition to a green

economy, the following essential components have been identified.

Regulations and Standards include (i) improvement of regulatory compliance (ii)

development of a robust harmonized system of environmental standards, and (iii) negotiated

and voluntary agreements and industry self-regulation. Economic and fiscal policy

instruments, including taxation, pollution charges, public expenditure on infrastructure,

public procurement and market mechanisms, are powerful instruments for a transition to a

GE. These can be achieved by (i) greening public expenditure; (ii) enhanced sustainable

public procurement; (iii) set-up of an environmental fiscal reform (EFR) to create the fiscal

space to support environmental protection and conservation and (iv) set-up of tariffs and

trade policy for sustainably produced products.

 

Financing

Resources required to finance a transition to a green economy can be mobilized by smart

public policy and innovative financing mechanisms. The potential key sources of funding

include (i) the government’s budget; (ii) earmarked funds from various sources; (iii) funds

generated by the economy; and (iv) donor programmes of assistance and loans from

international financial institutions.

Institutional and policy processes to support reform

Policies will need to be complemented by a strengthening of institutions and integrated into

the national development strategy. An array of government processes and initiatives will be

required to facilitate the success of the initiatives.

Education, training and capacity enhancement

Most important capacity-building issues are policy impact analysis, the need for integrated

planning, adequate enforcement of policy requirements and laws, the development of green

skills. Public awareness campaigns are essential to make green economy a social goal.

Three major recommendations for a green economy roadmap stem from the assessment and

stakeholder consultations.  These include:

(i)  Investment opportunities to lower energy costs and water losses, waste management

costs, and measures to increase adaptive capacity and building of resilience to climate change

and to introduce more sustainable consumption and production patterns.

(ii) Enabling conditions for investments with a mix of policy instruments involving

framework conditions that mutually reinforce economic growth and the conservation of

natural capital; and policies targeted at incentivising the efficient use of natural resources and

discourage pollution.

(iii) Capacity building to effectively implement policies involving institutional and technical

capacity in the areas of policy analysis, implementation, monitoring, and financial

management.  Strategies are required to articulate clear quantitative targets and/or develop

sets of indicators to measure progress and assess synergies and policy trade-offs.  Investment

in innovation is also essential.

– The new government’s program has recently been presented. The government says that

“Sustainable and eco-friendly development ranks high on Government’s agenda and is

expected to pave the way for a cleaner, greener and safer Mauritius”. What must the

government do to achieve his goal?

For the team, the Maurice Ile Durable concept has been a very good national initiative and

which has been highly commended internationally. Investments in priority sectors that would

enable the achievement of the ‘sustainable and eco-friendly developments’. PAGE is willing

to support Mauritius in key sectors, including sustainable tourism, green energy, waste and

organic agriculture. There are also a jobs, youth and skills agenda. In addition, the

programme mention ‘new pillars of development’ for Mauritius, but does not mention

explicitly the green economy. PAGE hopes there is a way it can encourage the green

economy as a new pole of development, as well as more general integration of the

environmental agenda as a solution to the economic priorities of the country.

– Investing in green economy can be costly at the beginning but there are costs savings in the

long run

The green economy modelling using systems dynamics, which is included in the Green

Economy Assessment shows that green economy investments can generate annual savings in

the range of 2.6% of GDP, which can be allocated to consumption, savings and partly to

investment.  Green investments can also help increase GDP by about 6% higher 2035,

compared to a scenario where no green investments are made.

– Mauritius’s aim...

Mauritius aims to obtain 35% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025.  Savings on fuel

imports originating from the investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency are

projected to be Rs 4.5 billion per year between 2014 and 2025 on average. As a result of

investment in renewable energy, fossil fuel emissions under the green economy scenario are

projected to be 18.2% and 20% lower than in the business as usual scenario in 2025 and

2035, respectively.

About PAGE (Partnership for Action on Green Economy)]The Partnership for Action on

Green Economy (PAGE) was launched in February 2013 by the UN Environment

Programme (UNEP), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Industrial

Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UN Institute for Training and Research

(UNITAR), and lately included the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

PAGE is a response to the Rio+20 outcome document “The Future We Want”, which

recognizes green economy as a vehicle for sustainable development and poverty eradication.

PAGE aims to support 30 countries over the next seven years, in building national green

economy strategies in order to generate new jobs and skills, promote clean technologies, and

reduce environmental risks and poverty. 

The PAGE Partners have already supported a number of green economy initiatives in

Mauritius including the Africa Adaptation Programme for Mauritius partly funded by UNDP,

the Green Jobs reports funded by ILO, the Climate Change Adaptation Programme in the

Coastal Zone of Mauritius and the on-going green economy assessment that will feed into an

action plan. Mauritius’s request to benefit the support of PAGE was acceded and announced

at the first global conference on PAGE held in Dubai last year. Five Mauritians (including

representatives from Government, Private Sector and UN officials) also participated at the

first PAGE Green Economy Academy held in Turin last October. PAGE supports Mauritius

through a series of analytical, capacity building and awareness raising activities. 

A Green Economy Assessment is being finalised, which looks at the current policy

framework and measures being taken by the Mauritian government in relevant sectors.  A

broader consultation process is being conducted to ensure that information in the green

economy assessment is as accurate as possible, and inputs and insights of all stakeholders are

incorporated into the document Green Economy Action Plan.