[ Being forced to live with scarce quantities of fossil fuels, it
has pioneered different forms of energy saving and alternative energy
production. In the last two decades, Cuba has made important
achievements in building a more sustainable society]
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CAN WE LEARN FROM CUBA’S SUSTAINABLE REVOLUTION?  
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Elias Ferrer Breda
August 24, 2023
Forbes
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_ Being forced to live with scarce quantities of fossil fuels, it has
pioneered different forms of energy saving and alternative energy
production. In the last two decades, Cuba has made important
achievements in building a more sustainable society _

Cuban organic urban agriculture. Pedro Munoz, left, and his son David
work on the 7,500-square meter plot of land they share with two other
families, in the La Lisa municipality of Havana, Cuba. , In a country
shut out from global economy people like the Munozes are spearheading
a trend towards organic urban agriculture copied from New York to
Sydney, (Photo credit: Bloomberg)

 

In the last two decades, Cuba has made important achievements in
building a more sustainable society, in part because, and in spite of,
the many hurdles it faces. Such feats have been the result of efforts,
innovation and entrepreneurship from all levels of Cuban society; from
state-led campaigns to cooperatives, businesses, organised communities
and individuals.

Cuba’s form of government is not the subject of this article, while
it may be for many others who wish to discuss it. Instead, the point
is to foster debate on the attainments, regarding sustainable
development, in a poor country which has also been under heavy
sanctions for more than 60 years.

In a context of scarce fossil fuels, it has pioneered different forms
of energy saving and alternative energy production. If it were not for
the blockade, Cuba could easily be importing oil from the US, as well
as other geographically close producers. However, general shipping is
restricted: tankers and cargo vessels cannot access US ports six
months from docking in Cuba.

Between the fall of the Soviet Union and the appearance of an ally in
Venezuela, Cuba’s economy had to learn to function with little oil.
It cannot import from North American producers, while vessels that
dock in Cuba cannot enter US ports for six months. Even with a friend
in the region, it hasn’t been able to import enough to satisfy its
needs. This has been especially the case since a full-blown economic
crisis and US sanctions have hit Venezuela. Currently, it is importing
fuel from Russia and recently also from Mexico, paying a premium for
being under the US embargo.

Cuba is itself a producer of oil and natural gas, and new reserves
have been discovered in the last two decades. The island
however produces around 38,000 barrels
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oil per day, but consumes 156,000
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according to the US Energy Information Administration, using 2021
data. The country also has many difficulties refining crude, in part
due to the US embargo, and also to management by state enterprises.

The Caribbean nation is also one of many Small Island Developing
States (SIDS) that are hardest hit by climate change. Some scientists
argue tropical storms are increasing in intensity, while many areas
are vulnerable to rising sea levels. The IMF published a report
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that “the Caribbean region is most vulnerable to natural disasters
and has the highest energy prices”. For different reasons, for years
now sustainability has made it to the top of the agenda in Havana.

Projects from the University of Leeds
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the World Wildlife Fund, the Global Footprint Network
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and the Sustainable Development Index
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that Cuba is among the leaders in closing the gap between human
development and sustainability. The Global Footprint Network
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that only eight countries met the two minimum criteria for sustainable
development, including Cuba. That is, a so-called “high human
development”, and resource demand of “1.7 global hectares of
biologically productive surface area per person”. The first measure
is classification of the United Nations’ Human Development Index
(HDI), if it is above the score of 0.7. The think tank draws on data
sourced by the Cuban government, the United Nations and itself.

In the 2006 campaign
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over six months, 9 million incandescent light bulbs were changed free
of charge to compact fluorescents. Tungsten filament lighting is more
inefficient; a light bulb produces 15 lumens per watt of input power,
against 50 to 100 for fluorescents. The latter also have a longer
lifespan by ten times. Cuban consumers were offered subsidised, more
efficient energy appliances, including almost 2 million refrigerators,
over 1 million fans, 182,000 air conditioners, and 260,000 water
pumps.

A study
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US and Cuban academics shows that household electricity consumption
rose by 142% between 1990 and 2014, and gross electricity generation
by 29%, although gross CO2 emissions fell by 14%. The study was
carried out with data from the International Energy Agency, the Cuban
National Statistics Office, and the UN Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean.

Renewable electricity production is still very small, at 4.5% of the
national grid
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Oil and gas still account for most power generation. In Cuba’s case,
what has been more significant in driving sustainable outcomes has
been energy efficiency. For example, solar water heaters do not
require electricity, and proximity farming reduce demand for transport
and refrigeration. There are still many challenges, and Cuba is
currently behind its own schedule towards more renewable energy
production. On this point, the government had set a target of 24% for
2030.

Let’s imagine if we did that everywhere else. For example,
the London School of Economics
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that “in the UK households reportedly used around 30% less energy in
2017 than in 1970, largely due to energy efficiency policies”. The
report also pointed out criticism of measures having been taken
half-heartedly. The two countries have extremely different
circumstances; however, the report offers a glimpse into the effect of
energy efficiency. What if we seriously committed to this idea?

Cuba has also promoted growing food domestically, including in urban
areas. This has involved private farmers, cooperatives, and state
actors. This had led to a rise in organic agriculture and brought
production and consumption close together. Small-scale farmers from
across the developing world have been learning from methods developed
in this Caribbean island. This may seem of little importance in the US
or Europe, but their work is crucial in feeding and employing hundreds
of millions less developed countries.

On this sector, the WWF also produced different reports on various
aspects of Cuba’s environmentalist drive. Home to 2 million
inhabitants, Havana is also full of urban farms
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They “produce between 45% to 100% of its fresh vegetables (various
annual estimates), and up to 20% of the national fresh food total”.
The wide variance is due to weather events and the prices and
availability of imports. Economist Sinan Koont estimates
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“more than 35,000 hectares of land are being used in urban
agriculture in Havana”.

It is also noteworthy that the island was a plantation colony, where
cash crops dominated right into independence and communist rule. In
the last 25 years, however, Cubans have committed to reforestation. In
2015, a report
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out that then 30.6% of the country was covered in forests, up from an
estimated 14% around the time of the revolution in 1959. Before
Spanish colonisation, forest coverage is estimated to have been 90%.

 

Britain's Prince Charles (C) next to the Vice-President of the Council
of State of Cuba Ramiro Valdes (3-L) cuts the ribbon during the
cornerstone laying ceremony of a photovoltaic park at Mariel Special
Economic Development Zone in Artemisa province, Cuba on March 26,
2019.   (Photo by Yamil Lage / Agence France-Presse - AFP)
Due to the blockade, Cubans have also been pushed to innovate reusing,
repairing, and recycling whatever they cannot source from imports.
Note that production is also affected by sanctions, so it is equally
difficult for Cubans to create a strong manufacturing sector. Though
this proves there is an important potential, conditions are often not
ideal. Surely Cubans are fed up with old cars, and could gladly do
with newer, more energy-efficient models. In the same line, much
innovation takes place in an environment full of hardship and
desperation.

Now let us turn all this on its head. What if, instead of being pushed
into being more sustainable, we incentivise innovation around the
world? Can we take the same ideas into a different context? Surely
there are many ways to harness energy. In Cuba they prefer solar given
their climate, from panels to water heaters. Elsewhere geothermal,
hydroelectric, nuclear, hydrogen or others will be the cleaner, most
cost-effective way. Likewise, there are methods for energy
conservation such as using building methods to cool down, whereas in
other places architects should pursue insulation. Can we imagine the
potential of the same effort, but in a developed economy? We cannot
just brush aside all ideas and lessons because of Cuba’s form of
government. Can we act with the same innovativeness and commitment as
ordinary Cubans are doing, out of necessity, before it is too late?

_[ELIAS FERRER BREDA is the editor of an emerging markets blog at
Forbes, and previously contributed to magazines such as Le Monde
Diplomatique and The European. He has reported from the ground,
including visits to Algeria and Venezuela. He graduated in Development
Studies from SOAS, University of London.]_

* Cuba
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* Cuba blockade
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* Embargo
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* fossil fuels
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* sustainable agriculture
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* Sustainable society
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* alternative energy production
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* Green New Deal
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* GND
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