Accelerating the energy transition is necessary and feasible
Accelerating the energy transition is necessary to keep the world livable. A fundamental change is required to prevent the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere from rising above 450 ppm and thus to keep global warming below 2℃. With a share of 14% sustainable energy (in 2020), the Netherlands is one of the lagging countries in Europe. It should and can do better.
The built environment and industry matter
The built environment is responsible for approximately 25% of CO2eq emissions in the Netherlands. The industry for about 40%. The remainder comes from transport (approx. 19%) and agriculture (approx. 16%). Well-chosen energy measures for buildings and industrial processes can substantially contribute to make the Netherlands fossil free.
Aim before you fire
Energy measures can be very profitable financially, but the cost always precedes the benefits. By drawing up a roadmap of energy measures, investments in the short and longer term can be balanced to achieve the best results. A well-founded technical, economic and financial feasibility analysis is essential to make smart decisions and avoid surprises during implementation.
Support requires an honest and solid story
In case of multiple stakeholders, it is essential to ensure broad support. Clear communication, transparency and allowing room for different views are necessary, but not sufficient. A solid story and a fair distribution of costs and benefits are primary.
If it can’t be done profitably, it’s time for a new policy.
We have no shortage of green stories, but not all plans are successful and many other plans are not implemented or implemented too late. There are many barriers to stop parties from doing what is necessary. To overcome these, it is essential that investments pay for themselves in 5 to 10 years and that subsidies and regulations are predictable. The government controls the business case by setting standards, collecting taxes and granting subsidies. It must therefore ensure that investments that contribute to collective social objectives are rewarding for the parties making these investments..
If you can’t explain it, you haven’t understood it yourself
Drawing up a well-founded roadmap of energy measures is specialist work. However, specialists may be asked to present the results as simply as possible (but no simpler than that), so that everyone (with a little effort) can understand the recommendations.