Monica Araya: A small country with big ideas to get rid of fossil fuels
Monica Araya: Ett litet land med stora idéer om hur man gör sig av med fossila bränslen
In 2015 Monica Araya's native Costa Rica produced almost all of its electricity from renewable sources. She advocates for the next step: a fossil-fuel-free world. Full bio
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could take the lead in this transition.
en ledande roll i denna övergång.
is a contentious statement,
ett kontroversiellt uttalande
is at stake in our countries
står på spel i våra länder
i centrum av vår utveckling.
at the center of our development.
utveckling å ena sidan
between development on the one hand
och livskvalitet å andra sidan.
renewables, quality of life, on the other.
a developing country.
ett utvecklingsland.
of the Americas,
to remember where we live.
kommer från olja.
on fossil fuels,
transition as a marathon,
som ett maraton, blir frågan:
to the finish line,
från fossila bränslen?
the rest of the economy?
that if we don't succeed,
att om vi inte kan lyckas,
med er om Costa Rica,
to talk to you about Costa Rica,
av utveckling utan fossila bränslen.
for development without fossil fuels.
was coming out of civil war.
ur ett inbördeskrig.
won the hearts and minds:
hjärtan och sinnen:
skulle inte ha någon armé.
would have no army.
slå sönder murarna kring en armébas.
by smashing the walls of an army base.
i den nya författningen,
in the new constitution,
jag kan berätta denna historia
nearly 70 years later.
before I was born,
and millions of others
that it was good luck,
att det mest var tur,
free education and free health care.
fri utbildning och hälsovård.
kunde vi omvandla militärens budget
into social spending,
och detta drev stabiliteten.
investing in hydropower,
investera i vattenkraft
för att generera elektricitet,
for electricity generation,
is struggling with today.
i nationalparker
of growth, growth, growth at any cost
tillväxt, tillväxt till varje pris
särskilt i utvecklingsländerna.
especially in the developing world.
for ecosystem services,
för ekosystemtjänster
en nyckelfaktor för tillväxt.
which today is a key engine of growth.
att vi inte har motsägelser.
we don't have contradictions.
by making our own choices,
genom att göra våra egna val,
vi handskas med utvecklingsproblem.
in dealing with development problems.
is around 11,000 dollars,
the Social Progress Index,
till social utveckling.
into social progress.
with big ideas,
med stora idéer
att växa upp med den historien.
to grow up with that narrative.
för den här generationen?
for this generation?
släpper fossila bränslen för gott,
to let go of fossil fuels for good,
för följderna av klimatförändringar.
to the impacts of climate change.
ligger det i vårt intresse
it is in our best interest
att importera olja
vatten i våra floder,
comes from water in our rivers,
disrupting our transportation system
att bryta med vårt transportsystem
bussar och tåg med elektricitet
buses and trains with electricity
för oss costaricaner,
for us Costa Ricans,
is not working for us.
and infrastructure fail,
we have to accept this as normal.
som något normalt.
every single day.
så här varenda dag.
in other countries
är lyckligt i pura vida.
happy in pura vida.
about clean transportation
some distant utopia out there.
som redan finns idag.
that is happening today.
and conventional cars
och konventionella bilar
electric buses.
of oil-based transportation, we can,
oljebaserad transport så kan vi det,
som vi tidigare inte hade.
that we didn't have before.
with this idea,
klarar sig utan olja, så var realistisk.
and so is Costa Rica, so get real.
på det argumentet är?
to that argument is?
inte klarar sig utan arméer,
the world is stuck with armies,
to be brave again
att vara modig igen
why we have to do this.
and urbanization is broken,
och urbanisering trasig,
vår framtid kring tätbygd och rörlighet.
to redefine our urban and mobility future.
that are built for cars.
som är byggda för bilar.
that is clean and dignifying.
adding fleets of conventional cars,
med konventionella bilar
is not going to be sufficient.
incremental projects in my country,
som går stegvis i mitt land,
riktigt fina elbilar här
with really beautiful electric cars here
i samma infrastruktur,
in the same kind of infrastructure,
breaking free from oil,
through incrementalism.
can be an inspiration to others,
kan bli en inspiration för andra,
vi inte använde fossila bränslen
we were not using any fossil fuels
runt om i världen.
Christiana Figueres,
of the Paris climate agreement.
om Parisöverenskommelsen.
and be an example.
och vara ett gott exempel.
att ta detta till sig?
utan fossila bränslen?
the ground up is needed.
we created Costa Rica Limpia.
och inspirera medborgare.
and we want to inspire citizens.
will be bogged down by endless,
att fastna i ändlösa,
tekniska diskussioner
från olika etablerade intressenter.
by various established interests.
powered by renewables
drivet med förnyelsebar energi
take that away from us.
from our seven provinces
från våra sju provinser
på ett sätt som de kan relatera till
in terms that matter to them,
har olika åsikter om nästan allt
att inte känna sig små.
till medborgarspråk
into citizen language
har en viktig roll att spela tillsammans.
and can play it together.
the promises that were made
de löften som givits
that they have to deliver it,
när vi bildar koalitioner -
when we form coalitions --
elektrisk transport till ny vardag,
the new normal,
måste berätta om var de står
will have to disclose where they stand
i vår centrala politik.
has to enter our mainstream politics.
this is not a question of climate policy
är en fråga om klimatpolitik
what we have to show
who haven't been born.
att detta var militära baracker
these were military barracks
without an army in this place,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Monica Araya - Climate advocateIn 2015 Monica Araya's native Costa Rica produced almost all of its electricity from renewable sources. She advocates for the next step: a fossil-fuel-free world.
Why you should listen
Monica Araya is the founder and director of Costa Rica Limpia (Spanish for "clean"), a citizen group that promotes clean energy. Costa Rica Limpia tracks governmental pledges on key issues such as renewable energy and public transport investment, and it hosts citizen consultations to give visibility to people's preferences on these topics. Araya is also the founder of Nivela, an international thought leadership group that advances narratives on development and climate responsibility by combining senior and millennial perspectives from emerging economies.
After earning a master's in economic policy from Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Araya obtained a PhD in environmental management from Yale. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs named her 'Personality of the Future' in 2014.
In 2017 Araya was named resident expert at "Next Visionaries," a global initiative by TED and BMW i that seeks to reimagine the future of mobility.
Monica Araya | Speaker | TED.com