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Mauritius: 'Climate Change is About More Than Renewable Energy'
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L'Express (Port Louis)
INTERVIEW
6 May 2008
Posted to the web 6 May 2008
Port Louis
Congratulations on the success of your Green Day! What is your own appraisal?
We're very happy with the result. We believe that climate change is critical for Europe and Mauritius even if we face different problems. There seems to be a stronger focus on the issue as Joel de Rosnay's recent visit showed. We organized a drawing competition in the schools of the island's and we received 500 drawings that showed not only artistic creativity but also have a clear message. This is good. Climate change is about more than renewable energy. It's about education, making people aware of environmental problems and making children understand the impact they have on the planet and how they can reduce that impact. There is a need for us to must join forces.
Mauritius is a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) with its lot of vulnerabilities. What are the EU's concerns for SIDS?
We are partners with many small islands. Climate change, global warming and a rising sea-level all pose very serious risks. Finding sufficient agricultural area can also be a problem. SIDS are more vulnerable than most. The European Union (EU) has a longstanding relationship with Mauritius. We are partners in several different areas. Europe has made very strong commitments on energy efficiency - reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting renewable energies.
These are very relevant to Mauritius. For example, in Europe, 90% of the electricity we consume goes into heating. Here a lot of electricity is used in air conditioning. The isolation of buildings, whether to stop heat getting in or out, is very important. We can share our experiences. Europe has put 80 million euros in a global fund to support investment in environmental fields. That's an interesting mechanism and one that Mauritius could try to get into.
Have you noticed a strong political commitment in Mauritius to tackle some of the more pressing environmental issues?
I haven't yet seen the full picture yet. Whether or not there is a commitment is not really relevant though. The important thing is for us to get the process going. There are signs that there is the will. We are at the beginning of a long process. It will take time and we will have to keep up the momentum. Nothing can be achieved overnight. Every single person has an impact.
As you say, every person does indeed have an impact. What do you do at home and at work to reduce your carbon footprint?
We try to harmonize car trips to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. My office is on the 8th floor. I try to use the staircase as much as possible and the air conditioning as little as possible. I open the windows instead. We collect PET bottles and paper for recycling. At the office, we try to avoid using paper and, when we do use it, we tend to use recycled paper and the reverse side of paper that's already been printed on. Many of our employees live in the north and they all used to come to work in individual cars. Now they have rented a bus that takes them to and from work.
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Those are all very interesting initiatives. When it comes to recycling though, Mauritius seems to be lagging behind a bit. What must we do to emulate Europe's success in this area?
I have noticed that there is huge room for improvement in terms of recycling. The problem is that it's not easily accessible and not many people are aware of it. Recycling has to be brought closer to the people. They must also be shown what can be done with recycling. For example, PET bottles can be recycled into garden furniture, etc.
There is also the issue of rubbish collection. I always find it shocking to see the public beaches so full of rubbish. If Mauritius wants to convince people that it's serious about keeping its public beaches clean then there has to be sufficient dustbins.
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