GreenMicrofinancing

We had to arrive at the Convention Center an hour early today because of security; it is everywhere!  The President and First Lady of Indonesia were part of the opening ceremony.    While waiting, I had a chance to discussion technology and education with a young woman from Microsoft (I'm not sure why I continue to gravitate to the corporate types), saw a beautiful Indonesian dance performance, heard more of the exotic music of Bali and was reminded with a video, why we are here. 

Jodiman was married at 10 in 1962, had her first child at 15 and was living in abject poverty when she first heard of the Grameen Bank and microfinance in 1980.  She took out her first loan for $10, despite warnings from friends she would be killed by the bank if she couldn't repay the loan, purchased a rice husker and to is still a Grameen client.  Today, she and her children and her grandchildren enjoy a level of prosperity never dreamed of when she first joined Grameen.  A perfect example of why 98%+ of microfinance borrowers are women.

All the opening speakers addressed the current fuel and food crisis in someway but Professor Yunus summed it up the best.  In his comments he told us of the progress that has been made in alleviating poverty, mainly in Asia but also listed "bad omens of terrible things coming up".  These he said include "rising oil and food prices, the slowing economy, climate conditions and environmental degradation."  He then went on to say "microcredit can be a strong help in addressing these issues by extending agricultural credit and focusing on women."

Given the work we've been doing in Haiti with 2^nd generation biofuels (jatropha curcas), I couldn't agree more.  Agriculture policies in the US and EU have caused some of the problem, it is now time for them to be part of the solution. 

As President Yudhoyono said "microcredit is a tool to promote peace, stability and political development" and without a concerted efforts on the part of developed countries, 100 million people are in danger of slipping back into poverty according to the World Bank.   

 Currently the world is facing higher food and energy prices, both of which are creating problems for the most vulnerable of the world’s people; those 2 billion plus living on $2 or less a day, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Yes, higher energy cost, demand, and subsidies have driven up the cost for staples like corn, soybeans and rice.  Yes, a significant percentage of the corn and soybean crops are going into making ethanol and biodiesel.  And yes, some land across the globe has been converted or cleared to make way for bioenergy crops but none of this inevitable.

We need an ‘Apollo Program’ for energy that will begin to reverse the demand for foreign oil while fully recognizing the social and environmental impact of the current policies and begins to make choices that are good for people and the planet.

First among these is the acknowledgement that conservation is our quickest and most effective way to reduce dependence on imported oil.  Following that, support for research and development of so called 2nd Generation feedstock is critical if we want to reduce pressure on food.  Corn and soybeans represent 1st generation crops that are seen by many as overall energy losers.  And while if I’m being very charitable, some positive benefit is being derived from them in that the critical infrastructure to produce, transported, and use ethanol is being developed. 

It however, can’t be an end point but only a very short pause on the way to 2nd generation feed stocks such as jatropha curcas and miscanthus. They must in turn relieve the pressure on food while providing clear and undeniable energy and environmental benefits.

Kathleen Robbins, GreenMicrofinance Director of Clean Energy