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Reforms key for development and green future: Erik Solheim

16 Oct 2022

By Asiri Fernando  Sri Lanka can use the current economic crisis to chart a trajectory for recovery and reconciliation, if political will can be translated to practical actions, former Norwegian Foreign Minister, peace negotiator, and green advocate Erik Solheim said last week. Solheim, who was recently appointed as President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s International Climate Change Advisor, told The Sunday Morning that he was looking forward to bringing expert knowledge regarding renewable energy, energy regulation, and climate change resilience to Sri Lanka, while also acting to seek investment opportunities for the troubled island. Reflecting on the Sri Lankan peace process, Solheim acknowledged that the Norwegian-backed attempt had failed, despite their best efforts, blaming both the LTTE leadership’s inability to accept a federal solution and disunity between the major political parties in the south for the collapse of the process. Following are excerpts of the interview:    How does it feel to be back in Sri Lanka and playing a new role as an Advisor to the President on climate change? On a personal note, it is marvellous. Sri Lanka is a beautiful place. It has some of the most fantastic nature in the world and some of the best people. I have many friends here. I am so happy to be back. I am so happy to be able to help Sri Lanka a bit during this difficult situation. We have all been closely following the economic meltdown in Sri Lanka with concern. At the end of the day, Sri Lanka has many problems. If I am able to help the President from outside, I am happy to help.   You are returning after many years. How much has Sri Lanka changed?  There is a huge change in Colombo, which is very visible. The roads are better, there are skyscrapers, less potholes… on the surface there is very little to suggest there are problems for people. The city looks much nicer than some in the developed world. I see a lot of positive changes.    What will your role be? What areas will you focus on?  I hope to help with advice and the best kind of knowledge from other parts of the world, particularly from India and China, which are two nations that I work with the most. Both of them are developing fast, particularly on environmental technology. Last year, 82% of all solar panels that were built in the world were made in China; 70% of electric batteries were made in China. If you buy a Tesla electric car, it is likely that nearly half the value of the car was made in China. In India, Prime Minister Modi is moving very quickly into renewable energy, green hydrogen; they plan to introduce electric buses and cars soon. Every day, somewhere in India, there is investment into solar energy or floating solar parks. There are major solar projects underway in Karnataka or Tamil Nadu; rooftop solar projects in Uttar Pradesh. Of course, Sri Lanka should try to get advice and industry from the US and Europe as well. However, the most important opportunities will be from India and China, because they have low prices. I am happy to help bring in this expertise and knowledge to Sri Lanka and maybe help make some connections with companies which may potentially want to invest in Sri Lanka.   What opportunities do you see for Sri Lanka in terms of climate change? Sri Lanka is very vulnerable to climate change. It is a place with a lot of rain and has the potential for storms and related risks. However, I think Sri Lanka should focus on the opportunity in renewables and get investments in wind, solar, and green hydrogen. That way you save money, rather than spend money to the outside world on importing oil and gas. Such a move will be good for Sri Lanka’s economy; it will create jobs locally and it is good for the environment. Do you think there is political will to see these environmental aspects through?  I think there is a lot of political will. President Wickremesinghe is resolute to put Sri Lanka front and centre in the global climate debate and to move into renewable energy very fast. This, as I see it, is supported by everyone, including the previous President, who made substantial and highly ambitious goals for renewables in Sri Lanka. As I see it, it is a matter of making it happen, so you need to cut the red tape and create the economic and political climate that investors will come to spend their money on. This change can come only from the private sector. The regulations must be put in place to enable that. It will not come from grants from development agencies, as some people think. The private sector must come in and be given the right opportunities. It isn’t about political will – that is there. It just needs to be made to happen in reality. Sri Lanka is increasingly prone to climate disasters and disruptions due to its geographical location. In order of priority, what can Sri Lanka do to improve climate resilience and food and energy security? First of all, I would like to note that your President is very keen on Sri Lanka being part of the Indian Ocean region, working closely with the Maldives, Seychelles, and others in a mutually-beneficial manner. If I were to list three key areas, number one would be renewable energy. Energy is the driving factor for everything in modern society, going into solar and wind, both onshore and offshore. The coast is normally shallow, so there is good potential for offshore solar and tidal/wave energy. From that comes electric mobility, which is also important for energy security and resilience.  Secondly, the greening of the land. Forest cover makes Sri Lanka much less vulnerable to earth slides, helps it weather storms, and helps retain soil moisture in the dry zone. A green Sri Lanka will also help draw more tourists. Third, agriculture. Of course, it was wrong to stop chemical fertiliser in one day. You cannot do it like that. However, when you do it step by step, it is very beneficial. They are doing it in Andhra Pradesh in India – doing it gradually – and it’s working. Most of these changes don’t cost money. Going from coal to solar saves money; it is the cheapest energy all over the world. So always look for economic opportunities.    Will you be able to offer advice or bring in expertise on international best practices regarding the regulatory framework needed to attract investors? Absolutely. I think India is the biggest neighbour here and it’s interesting to see what it has done to attract massive investments, particularly in solar, across the country. That can only happen if you have the right regulatory framework in place. For instance, if you produce solar electricity, you must be able to sell the surplus to the grid. If you create such an economic climate, things will happen.  For example, Norway has been a world leader in bringing in electric cars; 90% of cars in Norway are now electric. No one who has owned a fuel-powered car wants to go back to one, because electric cars are so much better. But that happened only because of Norwegian Government policies; basically they made electric cars cheaper than gasoline-powered ones, allowed them to use bus lanes, and gave them preferential treatment in parking lots and on ferries. I am happy to share the experience of Norway and others with Sri Lanka. President Xi of China has launched a slogan, ‘Green is Gold,’ meaning going green will build value, create jobs, and help raise people out of poverty.    Given the crisis Sri Lanka is facing, do you think this is an opportunity for us to reset our trajectory? I think it is. Because, firstly, everyone has felt the crisis; for a short period of time, there was hardly any public transport or cab services operational in the cities. People in the countryside are also suffering from cost-of-living issues. Everyone understands this. They understand that Sri Lanka needs a new direction, a more effective direction.  I think President Wickremesinghe is an expert on economics. He has the best relationships with the international arena and international financial institutions. I think he is very well placed to lead that economic recovery.  Secondly, I think this is an opportunity to resolve the ethnic issue, as extremism has diminished due to this crisis. While it is true that most of the people who marched in protest in Colombo were Sinhalese, many Tamils also suffered due to the crisis and many of the young people who were protesting said ‘we don’t want to be divided any longer’. Therefore, I think this is a great opportunity to make devolution happen in a way in which everyone would find a great future in Sri Lanka. In retrospect, how do you view your role in the Sri Lankan peace process and what is your opinion on the progress on reconciliation and peace in the country over the last 13 years?  I have stated my views on the peace process before; now I really want to look forward. I think the two main problems with the peace process was that LTTE Leader Prabhakaran, at the end of the day, couldn’t embrace a federal solution and thought that there was a military answer to everything. The other was that the two main parties in Sri Lanka in Sinhala politics couldn’t really work together for the good of the country. These were the two main flaws. We did our utmost, but we failed to make a peaceful settlement. However, now there is peace and everyone needs to look forward to how we can develop Sri Lanka in a way that Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, everyone feels that this is their home.    What are your views on the recent political instability? Do you see it as a positive step towards democratisation?  I think overall it was positive. Of course, there were excesses which were not acceptable. When you burn down houses, it is a loss for society. That should not have happened. Overall, it was an expression of the will to change. Now is the opportunity to bring that change. At the end of the day, there was very little violence compared to many other comparable situations from across the world.   Do you feel that there is adequate political will in Sri Lanka to push an economic and governance reforms agenda? I think there is a will from all sides, but it will be difficult. For Sri Lanka to really develop like Vietnam or Singapore, governance reforms are critical. Without governance and economic reforms, it is really difficult to develop as fast as Sri Lanka would like to. Sri Lanka is in a place where health systems and education are really good. Also, a vast majority of Sri Lankans belong to the middle class, so it is a reasonably happy place. But it will develop much faster – like Singapore, China, and Vietnam – if you establish Government systems which lead the private sector to be the dynamo of the economy.     With your arrival, criticism arose on social media in Sri Lanka, particularly about the allegation of a ‘frequent flyer’ approach during your work for the UN. How would you respond to such criticism?  I don’t want to comment on such except to say that most such articles which were written about that during my time at the UN were complete lies.  


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