Dear <<First Name>>,

Welcome to the second Island Innovation newsletter! If you were forwarded this email or accessed it through a link, don't forget to subscribe here. 

This week I was posed an interesting question: what does sustainability actually mean?

The answer at first might seem obvious, but there are many components of sustainability. The 1987 Brundtland Report defined sustainable development as "meet[ing] the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

We often focus on the environmental component of sustainability, while big businesses might be more focused on economic sustainability. Social sustainability is also an important element, but all three must be considered for a holistic and truly sustainable approach. In recently years, islands seem to have had theirsustainability defined for them as climate change, in some cases the two become almost synonymous. Climate change is no doubt a serious concern, but is it synonymous with sustainability?

Adaptation to climate change is just one of the many development challenges faced by island communities. The "Eco-Island Trap" and "Conspicous Sustainability" are just two of the terms that have been coined to describe an absolute focus on climate change at the expense of other development issues such as health and education. Climate change adaptation projects should not be at the expense of the very real development needs of today, but many islands and Arctic communities are forced into this paradigm and must frame any project in the context of climate change to get funding. This is not at all to say climate change should be ignored but a delicate balance needs to be found between it and other development issues.

I recently presented on this subject at 7th International Conference on Environmental Future (check out awesome conference artwork summaries here and here). The point is that island communities themselves can develop innovative strategies to succeed globally and should not be limited by the constraints of the climate change narrative imposed on them from outside.

This month there is also the Greening The Islands conference in Menorca. I won't be going but please let me know what you think if you go!

Thanks for reading,
James

P.S. Who knew that newsletters would cost so much to send out!? If you enjoyed this content could you pledge $2 per month to help cover the expense? Please visit my Patreon page.

P.P.S. Check out my recent interview on SunCast, the cleantech podcast.

Energy Stories

Interesting stories on energy from around the world: 

• An innovation lab in Jamaica launched to focus on the development of clean technology companies within the Caribbean
• Jamaica will replace 105,000 streetlights with more efficient LEDs while the Dominican Republic is aiming to be the world's first all-LED island
• The IMF has warned Guyana to update its tax laws after the deal struck with ExxonMobil's was revealed to be inferior than international standards
• Ireland's Aran Islands chosen to take part in project to produce transportation fuel from marine sources
• China's Hainan island will become first province to phase out fossil fuel use in cars
• Battery storage is playing a key role in energy transformation across the Caribbean
• New technologies are supporting renewable energy deployment in the Caribbean
• The island of El Hierro has managed to meet power demand for 18 straight days entirely with green energy
• Costa Rica looks to decarbonize its transportation sector and one company hopes hydrogen technologies will power heavy-duty vehicles
• Iceland is lobbying to ban fishing and cargo vessels in the Arctic from burning heavy-duty fuels
• Biodiesel research in Jamaica has reached vehicular trials

Anti-Nuclear Activism in the Marshall Islands

Nuclear activist, writer and poet Kathy Jetñil-Kijner from the Marshall Islands has launched her new piece with a focus on anti-nuclear activism. An emotional new short film charts her first visit to the radioactive dome located on what remains of the Runit Island in the Enewetak Atoll Chain. Along with Bikini Atoll, this was the site of major nuclear weapons testing by the United States in the 1950's leading to the displacement of the island's native poopulation.

Other stories worth sharing

A selection of stories relevant to innovation and sustainable development from around the world:

• A new open-access academic journal from the University of Malta will study of the nature and workings of small sovereign states and non-sovereign territories
• Drones in Jersey will forecast the weather and improve reliability of air services (in a less polluting & more efficient way than weather balloons!)
• An interview with the founder of London Pacific Fashion Week
• An election in Greenland means China could increase its role in the local economy
• How Martin Luther King influenced the Caribbean (and the Caribbean influenced MLK)
• The world's only floating national park is under threat
• The EU is offering its small islands free wifi hotspots
• Traditional kite making is alive and well in Guyana
• "Small is Sustainable" - Tokelau holds it first economic development summit and launches the nation's first locally-produced newspaper
• Finland wants to compete with Russia and China in the push for Arctic resources
• Indigenous Belizean teenager recieves award from the Queen for her efforts to preserve Mayan cultural heritage
• The University of Antioquia graduated 58 students in "ancestral languages" including Witoto and San Andrés-Providencia Kriol

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