Name: 【TED】Monica Araya: A small country with big ideas to get rid of fossil fuels (A small country with big ideas to get rid of fossil fuels | Monica Araya)
Uploaded: 2016-10-17T14:04:53.000Z
Duration: 15 min 53 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Adverbs of degree

and I believe developing countries could take the lead in this transition.

And I'm aware that this is a contentious statement,

but the reality is that so much is at stake in our countries

if we let fossil fuels stay at the center of our development.

that a country has to choose between development on the one hand

and environmental protection, renewables, quality of life, on the other.

I come from Costa Rica, a developing country.

and we live right in the middle of the Americas,

so it's very easy to remember where we live.

in order to generate all our electricity?

which is totally dependent on fossil fuels,

So if we think of the energy transition as a marathon,

the question is, how do we get to the finish line,

how do we decarbonize the rest of the economy?

And it's fair to say that if we don't succeed,

So that is why I want to talk to you about Costa Rica,

because I believe we are a great candidate

in pioneering a vision for development without fossil fuels.

That year, the country was coming out of civil war.

And yet, a surprising idea won the hearts and minds:

and that Second Republic would have no army.

found a powerful way by smashing the walls of an army base.

we made that decision permanent in the new constitution,

and that is why I can tell you that story nearly 70 years later.

I'm grateful they made that decision before I was born,

because it allowed me and millions of others

And you might be thinking that it was good luck,

There was a pattern of deliberate choices.

In the '40s, Costa Ricans were given free education and free health care.

we were able to turn military spending into social spending,

In the '50s, we started investing in hydropower,

of using fossil fuels for electricity generation,

which is what the world is struggling with today.

In the '70s we invested in national parks,

from the deeply flawed logic of growth, growth, growth at any cost

that you see others embracing, especially in the developing world.

In the '90s, we pioneered payments for ecosystem services,

and boosted ecotourism, which today is a key engine of growth.

and it doesn't mean we don't have contradictions.

The point is that, by making our own choices,

we were able to develop resilience in dealing with development problems.

the GDP per capita is around 11,000 dollars,

But according to the Social Progress Index,

when it comes to turning GDP into social progress.

【TED】Monica Araya: A small country with big ideas to get rid of fossil fuels (A small country with big ideas to get rid of fossil fuels | Monica Araya)

Subtitles ListPlay Video

【TED】Monica Araya: A small country with big ideas to get rid of fossil fuels (A small country with big ideas to get rid of fossil fuels | Monica Araya)

country

clean

people

mobility