“It is quite a relief,” says Marko Hekkert, director of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, in the NOS Radio 1 News. “2050 seems far away, but it is only 25 years away. With the enormous task ahead, I had some doubts as to whether it would still be possible. So when all the models showed that it was still possible, I’m relieved anyway.
In order to be climate neutral by 2050, no more net CO2 must be added to the atmosphere, Hekkert explains. “Then we really have to pull out all the stops. There are a number of big workhorses with which we can do it. The most important one, with which we really cover the vast majority of our energy needs, is scaling up sustainable energy. That is mainly solar and wind energy.”
Electricity
But not everything can be made with electricity and it is not suitable for all functions, Hekkert knows. “For example, if we want to fly or if we want to sail sea-going vessels. That simply cannot be done on electricity or on hydrogen. That is another option that is important. And for that we need biogenic raw materials, so raw materials made from organic material of plants and woody plants.”
A lot needs to be invested in sustainable electricity, says Hekkert. There must also be a rush behind that. “That 25 years is still very short,” he says. “The great thing about this study is that it shows that it is possible. We also show how it can be done. But now it is a matter of continuing to persevere and making the investments to make this possible.”
Agricultural sector
Every sector must contribute to this, but it is impossible for one sector, Hekkert acknowledges. “That is for the agricultural sector. You are dealing with animals and natural processes there. There is actually no conceivable technology to make that really completely climate neutral. So we will have to compensate for that. That is why we are also talking about having a net should not emit greenhouse gases.”
An important route has been drawn up for this, says Hekkert. “We assume that we will continue to fly and sail in the future. So the chemical industry will have to make fuels that are climate neutral using biogenic raw materials. A lot of CO2 is released during that production process. If we capture and store it under the North Sea, then we have actually created a vacuum cleaner. This way we can offset those emissions in the agricultural sector.”
Tags: Netherlands climate neutral
