NEVERENDUM In recent years I have written a lot about Nyenrodians around the world in the "Chatting with" section. For this issue, the editors asked me to write a contribution about Scotland, where Ton Christiaanse (19820144) and I have been living for over 12 years now. The occasion was the fact that last November the UN climate conference COP26 took place in Glasgow. How did the Scots digest this 'event'? BY MADELEINE KEMNA (19850036) - PORTRAIT PHOTO MADELEINE KEMNA
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ince we moved here in 2009, a lot has changed. This is mainly due to the 2014 referendum that voted on a possible Scottish exit from the UK. A small majority (55%) voted against leaving, but unfortunately that resulted in a very polarized society. The nationalist government had promised that the referendum would be “once in a generation,” but nothing turns out to be further from the truth. It is a “neverendum.”
This is in large part because of the nationalist Pavlov reaction to claim, in the face of everything that happens in London, that things are much better off in Scotland. Sometimes it is, but often it isn't. Brexit threw oil on the fire. In Scotland, 62% voted against leaving the EU, and the nationalists saw this as an occasion for another referendum. However, this cannot be done lightly; the British government must authorize such a plebiscite and the Conservatives do not feel like it. The UK government's decision to put Glasgow forward to host COP26 cannot therefore be seen in isolation from the desire to show the Scots the benefits of UK membership. Another important reason is that Scotland is potentially one of the greenest places on earth. The enormous amount of wind and strong currents with raging waves, sometimes as high as 20 meters, on the coast provide an ideal
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environment for green energy generation. Unfortunately, few investors have the patience and dedication to put money into this. On a visit to the Orkney Islands in the far north of Scotland, I felt the frustration of the locals at the lack of support to further develop the knowledge and ingenuity that exists there. “In the 1990s the UK was a frontrunner in green energy, but now we have been overtaken left and right by countries like Denmark and Germany,” I overheard. A good example of Orkney's potential is the test it organized for Microsoft between 2018 and 2020. Specialized local companies helped the software giant to place a data center with 864 servers in a special container on the seabed. For two years, the servers were continuously monitored and analyzed. In 2020, the container was hoisted up again, as planned. This test provides the basis for extensive evaluations to discover how data centers can operate in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. Underwater, less energy needs to be used for cooling and there is even a possibility of using locally generated green power from wind, tides and waves. In addition, it turned out that far fewer servers failed underwater than on land. What about the Scots themselves? Eddy Dekker (20020407), the only other Nyenrodian in Scotland, provides an interesting insight. “The governing Scottish National Party (SNP) has changed in five years from a supporter of fossil fuels to an opponent. A few years ago, during the independence referendum, companies like Shell and BP were still seen as drivers of prosperity and the basis for a bright independent future. I have experienced this personally, since until a few years ago I often worked for them as a consultant. Now many activities are being scaled down and new investments are being postponed. So there is not really a gradual transition; the Scottish government has turned radically around -perhaps to use climate change as a new argument for independence.” Scotland does indeed have ambitious targets, but so far
