OPINION
How many economists do you know that you can call a rock star or a superhero?
In our books, Fatih Birol, Chief Economist at the IEA (International Energy Agency) is up there with Superman and Captain Planet.
That’s because no economist out there has so tirelessly advocated for help for the 3 billion people who lack access to electricity or depend on wood, charcoal, and other solid biomass fuels for cooking and heating.
In his most recent statement, Dr. Birol points out that it would take only about 3% of the projected global energy investment of over USD 26 trillion (that will be spent between 2010 and 2030) to bring electricity and sustainable energy to the energy poor. That comes out to about 35% billion per year. Yes. It’s chunk of change, but not out of reach if you consider the huge subsidies the oil industry receives each year.
According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a US centrist organization that works to eliminate wasteful government spending, in America alone, the estimated total revenues from unpaid royalties and tax loopholes amount to more than $50 billion per year. So don’t tell us there is no money out there to provide illumination and better fuels to the poor men, women, and children who must breathe polluted indoor air and/destroy their environments, or walk for miles to collect firewood.
We support Dr. Birol in his effort to draw attention to this issue and we hope that the UN’s declaration of 2012 as the “International Year of Sustainable Energy for All” brings a ray of hope for the world’s energy poor.
— The Editors
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