Smart energy transition calls for inclusive approach
UG scientist Christian Zuidema discusses how we can jointly move towards a sustainable society. A smart transition requires a better distribution of advantages and disadvantages, he argues. 'The gap between the haves and have-nots is widening.'
Text: Jelle Posthuma
Winter in Groningen
At the height of the energy crisis in late 2022, Zuidema cycled down a street near the Pioenpark in Groningen early one morning. The ground was slightly frozen. Normally, at these temperatures, heavy gas fumes would rise from the many rooftop chimneys, but this morning only a few houses emitted smoke. According to the researcher, residents were forced to leave their heating off on this cold morning.
Christian Zuidema is Associate Professor of Spatial Planning at the University of Groningen.
|
During the European Researchers' Night, Zuidema will talk about a smart energy transition together with energy technology specialist Bert Stuij. The transition to sustainable energy is moving rapidly, in fact faster than experts have been predicting. Many people now have solar panels on their roofs and a heat pump ensures a pleasant temperature inside. Large wind and solar farms are a fact in our landscapes. However, the example of the Groningen neighborhood during winter shows that the transition is by no means guaranteed for everyone.
Haves and have-nots
A smart transition is a social-inclusive transition, argues the Associate Professor. Not everyone with a home of their own has enough money to make it sustainable. For tenants in a poorly insulated home, the problem is possibly even bigger: they are dependent on their landlord. ‘As a result, the gap between the haves and have-nots is widening,’ the researcher knows. ‘Part of society is unable to become sustainable, which leads to a delay in the energy transition.’
Moreover, the difference between the haves and have-nots is unfair, he continues. 'The energy bill is mainly a challenge for the have-nots. Even before the energy crisis, in some Groningen neighbourhoods a fifth of the households could not consume the energy they desired. This group is left behind because they cannot make their homes more sustainable. While they pay energy tax, they do not receive sustainability subsidies funded from this tax. That is a strange reallocation of finances.' Ultimately, this distortion can contribute to polarisation in society, says Zuidema.
New schemes
Delay, inequality and polarisation all call for a smarter way of tackling the energy transition in the Netherlands. It is not easy, the researcher warns, but there are definitely opportunities. ‘For example, by making citizens collective owners of energy facilities instead of market parties.’ As an example, Zuidema mentions the large heating networks in Denmark. Also, the government will have to provide more guidance in making poorly insulated rental housing more sustainable.
To help citizens, the government can set up new financing schemes. 'For example, low-interest loans that allow citizens to participate in sustainable projects. They do not have to invest directly, but do benefit from the profits.' According to Zuidema, ‘unburdening’ citizens is crucial for these schemes to succeed. ‘Someone who is worried about the energy bill often does not have time to study the matter.’
In the end, it is about ensuring that social investments in sustainability also end up in the hands of the have-nots. He sees opportunities in spending the funds from Nij Begun, the extensive restoration package for Groningen, on a fair energy transition. The current 'omgevingsfonds' (environment funds), intended to compensate surrounding neighbourhoods and villages for projects such as wind farms, could also be better spent. ‘Do we want to use these funds to build a golf course or a new canteen for the snooker club, or do we use it to serve society as a whole?’
Costs and benefits
Improving the use of the environment fund is part of making energy systems local. ‘Renewable energy is ultimately far less expensive than fossil energy, but it requires huge investments in our infrastructure.’ Zuidema stresses that it is beneficial to keep these investments in the local system. ‘The money we pay for fossil energy is lost to foreign suppliers of oil and gas, and finally Manchester City ends up playing in the Champions League. Whereas the money we invest in renewable energy, which is locally or regionally owned, stays in our own system.'
Sharing the costs and benefits of the energy transition fairly is also about the distribution of scarce space in the Netherlands, the researcher knows. ‘Renewable energy requires a lot of space. The landscape changes because of wind turbines and solar parks.’ If local residents receive nothing in return, this landscape change will inevitably lead to resistance, Zuidema knows. ‘But if we let the profits flow back into the community, you will get a completely different conversation. To find physical space, we must create social space.’
The fair distribution of costs and benefits fits the (political) message ‘the broadest shoulders carry the greatest load’. According to Zuidema, the message is easy to adapt according to one's political preferences. 'You can look at it both morally and nationalistically. Take it to fight poverty, to save the climate, for Dutch business or to provide Dutch energy to Dutch citizens at a low price. The message fits all perspectives. It is up to politicians to put a spin on it, as long as we meet our goals.’
European Researchers' Night
The four Schools for Science and Society of the University of Groningen, together with Forum Groningen and other partners, will be hosting the European Researchers' Night on Friday evening 27 September. It will be a vibrant science festival with over 40 programme elements. Stadjers, Ommelanders, students, non-students, researchers or non-researchers: all curious people are welcome. Tickets are still available. The European Researchers' Night (ERN) is an annual festival on the last Friday of September in several European cities, aiming to bring science to a wide audience. European Researchers' Night is co-funded by the European Commission, under the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme, grant agreement No.101162172. |
|
Last modified: | 27 September 2024 1.11 p.m. |
More news
-
22 August 2024
NWO awards grant to major research into the relationship between rural areas and cities
The relation between rural areas and cities have been under pressure in recent years and require future-proof spatial solutions. This is why the Fertile Soils project, in which 10 knowledge institutes and 30 practical partners work together,...
-
08 July 2024
New collaboration between UGBS and Faculty of Spatial Sciences: education for professionals
Bringing together knowledge and experience will provide new educational opportunities for professionals working in a variety of organisations.
-
20 June 2024
Hoe stoppen we het verlies van essentiële voorzieningen in elke regio en op het platteland?
Wat kan Nederland leren van de manieren waarop andere landen in Europa basisvoorzieningen in het landelijk gebied weten te behouden? Op verzoek van het Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties hebben Bettina Bock, Tialda Haartsen en...