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
Low energy prices conflict with energy security
The industry lobby for lower energy prices is short-sighted because it ignores the geopolitical reality of the EU's heavy dependence on energy imports. Instead, state aid should focus on improving… Read More
Clean cars vs less traffic
What works when it comes to cutting pollution from cars? Greenhouse gas emissions from road transport in the EU-27 have increased by 23% between 1990 and 2022, while in the… Read More
Better public transport does not reduce car emissions
Public transport is seen as an alternative to the car and therefore as a way to reduce pollution from car traffic. Indeed, trains, trams and buses are cleaner than cars.… Read More
Coming soon: Your European train ticket with just one click
It will soon be possible to book your international train journey with one click. This was promised by the coming European Commissioner for Transport on 4 November, during the European… Read More
Lessons from the without-Russian-gas miracle
The predicted large negative economic impacts of a ban on Russian gas did not occur. This fits in a pattern of overestimating the negative consequences of strict environmental policy measures,… Read More
No growth in truck kilometres
Logistics cause 11% to 12% of global CO2 emissions. Road transport accounts for around two thirds of this. Even with the fastest possible switch to electric trucks, the logistics industry is not on track to… Read More
All new trucks electric from 2035 onward!
Electric trucks are in 2030 cheaper to use than ones on diesel (TCO). The cost advantage is twenty percent for a truck trailer combination driving 400 kilometers a day. Including… Read More
Decarbonizing aviation: comparing nine policies
Aviation needs to bring its CO2 emissions down to zero not far beyond 2050. To achieve this, a wide range of technologies and policies is considered. Among these are taxes,… Read More
Does the Dutch court case against Shell have consequences for National Road Authorities?
Last year the Dutch court in the Hague ordered Shell to reduce its CO2 emissions by at least 45% by the end of 2030[1]. The ruling includes emissions from the… Read More
Sustainable mobility: illusions and successes
Efforts to achieve sustainable mobility saw many illusions and only few successes. Fortunately, the successes were large. In shorthand: policies to force the use of cleaner vehicles and energy, have… Read More
Green transition FFWD
We humans are part of the wider living nature on earth. We cannot survive without other organisms. We need clean air, water and fertile soils. At the same time, we… Read More
How to make people travel less by car and plane?
This is the million-dollar question for many advocates of sustainable mobility. T&E - European Federation for Transport & Environment - invited me to present my insights and discuss these during… Read More
Clean energy is the crowbar in the energy transition
The shift towards energy without CO2 is technical feasible and affordable as well. Mandates for clean energy are key for the energy transition. See my slides for some main lines.
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
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