Its Van der Es – The World in Action – Interview Part Two

A lengthy talk with Its Van der Es of Climate Policies International – Part Two.

Q: We seem to have no long term vision and "greed" is being promoted as the highest form of nationalism. How do you see it from your end? Is there a way out? What should we do?

ITS: When looking at the evolution of mankind, we see that the number of inventions has increased with the progression of time. As a result of that, humanity has become more and more dependent of the use of technologies to survive. As most of these technologies make use of artificial energy sources, based on the exploitation of mineral fuels, the availability of these fuels has become more important, especially to countries in which a lot of technological applications are being produced. This has lead to an increasing claim on mineral energy sources such as oil, gas, uranium and coal by industrial countries. As the availability of oil, gas and uranium is decreasing, industrialized countries tend to panic in fear to loose their major source of welfare.

As we now see in Africa and the Middle East, these fears lead to wars about the control on oil and gas sources. These wars are rather useless, however, as they don’t increase mineral fuel stocks. Besides, the continuous use of mineral fuels leads to an increase of the human need for artificial living circumstances, because of the climate disturbance that is caused by it. Therefore, it is in the interest of all parties involved, to join common efforts to develop ENDLESS ENERGY TECHNIQUES.

As Nature provides enough clean energy to fulfill the global energy consumption multiple times, all we have to do to survive as mankind is to develop the techniques to make use of inexhaustible energy sources like solar, wind, tidal and wave power and make them available to everyone.

Q: Can literature play an important role in creating global warming awareness?

ITS: In my point of view, the actual problem is not just about climate change. It is also the increasing difference between the global energy need and the availability of exploitable mineral energy sources that creates crises like wars over fossil energy supplies.

The increase of the global energy demand exceeds the amount of energy available from mineral resources. Techniques to exploit endless energy sources are not available yet in large enough quantities to fill the gap between the global energy demand and the production of energy from mineral sources in time. This results in a worldwide energy shortage, thus forcing up the price of mineral fuels.

In other words, mankind waited too long with the development of sustainable energy techniques. This is caused by the economic interest that goes along with the exploitation of mineral energy sources. The scarcity of mineral fuels increases the price of mineral energy, thus generating more profit for the companies that own the production facilities. National governments depend on these profits for their tax incomes. This makes it attractive to continue the exploitation of mineral sources till the end, instead of altering to less scarce sources. In other words, the incentive to invest in the development of endless energy techniques comes too late to fulfill the global energy demand in time. This difference between offer and demand is reinforced by the exponential global increase of welfare.

The economical development of China for instance, has lead to such a large increase of the Chinese energy demand, that the Chinese government has ordered 200 new coal plants and 40 new nuclear energy plants last year. Another reinforcing factor is the learning curve. It takes at least 15 years to research, develop and fully implement a new energy technique. So because of economic and national interest, clean natural energy techniques will not be available in time to fulfill the global energy demand. Unless a global action plan is developed to catch up with the arisen delay.

If politics do not interfere, the interest of mineral resource exploitation will cause both a worldwide welfare and ecological crisis. So far, local governments have protected their mineral industries for reasons of national interest rather than looking after the future availability of energy, raw materials, fertile soil and dry living areas. What is needed is world wide political insight in the necessity to alter both the energy supply and the use of resources for the industrial production system in an endless energy bio based recycling economy, independent of mineral sources.

Publication of literature on these subjects could contribute to worldwide political decisions to only allow endless energy techniques like solar, wind, wave and tidal power to fulfill the growing demand for new electricity plants, as well as to the conviction of economic decision makers in the economic and ecologic interest to invest both in the development of carbon free bio fuels for transport energy supply and in the production of plastics from agricultural grown natural plants and algae’s instead of mineral oil.

Q: Global warming issue is becoming also a cultural phenomenon, sort of "hot" topic of the day, is there more to it, or less?

ITS: The popularity of global warming is mainly caused by the recognition of the fact that the earth climate is actually changing. Besides, these changes appear to take place more rapidly every day. On top of that, we become aware that the impact of these changes is increasingly severe.

In other words, we start to feel uncomfortable by recognizing that we are making our living situation impossible by consuming in a few ages time the mineral sources that arose during thousands of years. We are beginning to feel that the consequences of our behavior might well be a change of climate similar to the one that took place during the past thousands of years, yet occurring in a few decades. Nowadays we wonder how much time we will have to adapt to the changing climate conditions. The answers we find in the extinction of species and the flooding of cities frightens people massively all over the world. So now politicians become aware that the perception of the people is changing. The basis for the traditional fossil fuel policy is decreasing.

Foreign policies of welfare states are openly being doubted as a result of the dubious relation with the control over mineral fuel sources. The problem cannot be denied any longer. This might affect the voting behavior of the electorate. That is why politicians hurry to declare global warming to be one of their prior political issues and call upon global action, thus creating a true climate hype. I find it rather hypocrite of politicians to call upon the people to engage climate action, because politicians themselves are responsible for letting the mineral industrial complex exhaust scarce soil sources without any obligation to invest a certain amount of their profit in the development of sustainable energy and production technologies.

It is in fact a sign of impotence, docility and lack of political achievement not to prohibit nor limit further use of mineral sources. A firm stimulation program to develop endless energy techniques more rapidly is the decision most necessary to be taken by both enterprises and governments all over the world. The popularity of global warming as a cultural issue might help to encourage decision makers both in politics and in industries to initiate such policies.

Q: Is there legitimate scientific data available about it?

ITS: Scientific data is not so much needed as common sense. Discussions on whether or not a climate problem can be proven from statistic data infer from the real problem: lack of adequate supply in the basic needs to survive as mankind. Scientific data on the approaching extinction of one third of all living creatures are plenty available. What we need is the common sense to understand that we are extinguishing ourselves, making the planet unlivable for future generations, by so irresponsibly exhausting infinite natural resources.

What can be proven scientifically is that ocean wave energy potential is much larger than the actual global energy need. What also can be proven is, that tidal streams can be exploited without damaging the earth ecosystems. But best proof of all is the logical fact, that there is no need for war over scarce energy sources once endless energy technologies are available for everyone. What needs to be proven scientifically, is that it is far more profitable to produce endless energy than it is to exploit mineral energy sources. The only way to prove that, is to agree by law and to put down in permits that the costs of the consequences of the use of energy sources should be paid by the same companies that make a profit out of exploiting these sources.

Q: How can everyone of us contribute in conserving earth’s resources?

ITS: People can contribute in saving scarce sources by being selective when buying products. This can be done by contracting green energy, for instance. When contracting your electricity supply you can agree to only pay for the generation of sustainable energy. The energy company than buys green certificates from sustainable energy producers, like wind energy farms, producing green energy only. This way you contribute to the investment in endless energy exclusively. Another way to contribute in saving scarce sources is compensating the carbon emission you cause by using natural gas or petrol. This compensation could be used to plant trees that mineralize carbon from the atmosphere. This way, the natural cycle of mineralization and extraction can be closed again. Green credit cards may help you to compensate the same amount of carbon dioxide that is emitted by the production, distribution and use of the goods you buy with this card.

The best way to contribute in saving scarce sources, however, is buying products that are made out of natural grown materials, like wool and wood, but also biodiesel and bio plastics. Furthermore, you can choose to buy products made out of recycled materials or buy used products yourself.

Q: If we human are only "carbon units" then something must be done to eliminate the hazard we pose to ourselves. What would you propose?

ITS: Human beings exist of water for 80%. That is why clean drinking water is so indispensable for us. So we humans are more than carbon units only. Yet still, it is interesting to look upon the chances of the use of carbon units, as a way to diminish carbon dioxide emissions by using a global trade system. The idea behind this is, that global warming can be stopped if carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 80 to 90%. In order to reach this aim, every household would be entitled to a certain amount of carbon dioxide emission rights, corresponding to the remaining 10 to 20% of the actual average carbon dioxide emission per family, caused by the consumption of both energy and goods. These carbon credits are traded on international markets. Producers of sustainable energy can sell carbon credits in quantities that correspond to the avoided amount of carbon dioxide emission that would have occurred if that same amount of energy would have been generated by burning fossil fuel. The same goes for sustainable products. Consumers of fossil energy and unsustainable products need to buy extra carbon credits.

This way, the costs of pollution are allocated at the end-users of polluting products, thus making each individual responsible for the pollution he causes. Also, energy saving measurements can be earned back more easily and the production and consumption of endless energy will be stimulated accordingly to the value of the avoided effects of climate change.

Q: The EU for example has set a target for 20 percent of all energy in the member states to come from renewable sources for 2020. Why can’t it be much higher?

ITS: The target of the European Union is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in 2020. In order to be able to reach this aim, global agreement on a collective approach of the climate problem is required. If this agreement cannot be reached, the European Union aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in 2020. In order to reach this goal, Europe aims to reduce primary energy consumption by 20%, generate 20% of the energy use from renewable sources and add 10% of biofuels to cover the use of transport energy. The reason why the European Union does not aim for more sustainable energy is, that competition and continuity of energy supply are equally important aspects of the European energy policy as the aim to stimulate the use of renewable energy sources.

In fact, the European Union still focuses on its dependence of foreign countries for the supply of oil and gas, according to an unpublished European green paper.

Q: Is there anything we did not cover and you would like to add?

ITS: What is needed is an international coalition of energy producing enterprises, setting up an investment program to rapidly develop clean energy technologies using endless energy sources.

In order to get these enterprises to choose for endless energy technique development as their major field of investment, firm stimulation programs of the governments of the industrialized and developing countries are needed. In order to fund these programs, firm regulatory energy policies are needed. These policies should discourage any further exploitation of mineral sources by charging taxes over mineral energy production. The amount of taxes to be paid should equalize the costs of the economical damage that results from the effects of climate change.

THANK YOU.

The interviewed can be reached at its@climatepoliciesinternational.com