Clean energy
To prevent further economic and social damage from climate change, fossil fuels need to stay in the ground. The price for coal, oil and natural gas direct after extraction needs to become so low, that it is not profitable anymore to search for new wells and to exploit existing ones. This is a tremendous challenge, because large economic interests are at stake. Main route is to make renewable energy cheaper than the costs of fossil energy including the strongly needed carbon taxes. In an intermediate period carbon capture and storage can help the transition to a fossil free energy sector, without further adding to the concentration of CO2 in the global atmosphere. So, clean energy is the core of energy and climate policy.
Publications
Oil Security Europe
Europe imports 88% of the oil it uses, mainly from rather unstable regions. This paper gives an overview of the security and economic risks associated with our oil dependency. Large… Read More
The Paris goals for mobility: no time for illusions
At the Dutch National Climate Summit in October 2016, I dealt with the question: Are the ambitious Paris goals for mobility achievable? My answer is: YES WE CAN. Thirty years… Read More
70% less CO2 from transport
A European Task Force set up by the Centre for European Policy Studies developed pathways and policies to achieve a tremendous reduction in transport greenhouse gases by 2050. This Task… Read More
Wishful Thinking in Transport Policy
In this essay I draw the lessons of 40 years of sustainable transport policy. This was my contribution to the international conference 'Keep Moving, Towards Sustainable Mobility' in 2012. What… Read More
Climate Change: Solution in Sight
Is it necessary to drastically reduce the amount of greenhouse gases into the global atmosphere and is it possible to achieve this? The answer on both questions was already in… Read More
A European aviation charge
In my book ‘New Mobility – Beyond the car era’ I predict that people in Western-Europe will in 2015 fly on average more kilometres than they travel by car. The… Read More