MESSAGE FROM EDINBURGH

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

Since 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 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

ALUMNI VAN VERRE MESSAGE FROM EDINBURGH-MADELEINE KEMNA

they are not being met. There is a legal obligation to be climate neutral by 2045 - 5 years before the rest of the UK. The most recent figures are from 2019 and at that time greenhouse gas emissions were 51.5% lower than in 1990. The target was 55%.

As I look around I see some areas where there is still considerable room for improvement. I know of hardly anyone in Edinburgh who drives (fully) electric. That's not surprising when you consider that in the whole of the UK, about 6 times the size of the Netherlands, there are only 1800 charging points. You find them mostly in and around London. Great was the Scottish shame when it turned out that there was not enough capacity to charge all electric cars during COP26. Generators running on vegetable oil brought the solution.

Still, the Scots really do have something to be proud of.

The goal of generating the equivalent of 100% of electricity needs from green sources by 2020 was only narrowly missed, falling to 97.4%. Scotland has a Green Academy where it is ensured that there are enough trained staff for new projects in the sustainable sector. Graduates can probably start work immediately. There are already a number of huge wind farms on Scottish soil and off the Scottish coast.

In addition, in a recent auction by Crown Estate Scotland, there were 17 winning bids, potentially adding 24 gigawatts (GW) to existing capacity. Shell, with partner ScottishPower, is involved in two potential projects that together account for 5 GW. That's the equivalent of clean energy for 6 million Scottish households, even though only 5.5 million people live in Scotland. So that could create quite a surplus. These are intended to be the largest floating wind farms in the world.

The auction raised a total of £700 million. Eddy Dekker: "It is shocking that the Scottish government has apparently not learned from the oil era. It now seems to be doing the same as it has been doing for years with the national politicians in Westminster. Concessions for oil were issued back then without keeping a piece of state property themselves that could provide additional income for future generations.

The same seems to be happening now with wind farm auctions. A British/Scottish state oil fund - of which I saw a Norwegian variant when I lived in Norway - has never come to pass here, and a renewable energy fund also seems far away now.”

Good climate agreements were made in Glasgow that could be an important step in the right direction. On the other hand, 102500 tons of CO2 were released as a result of COP26, the same as the annual emissions of 10,000 British households. From the looks of it, the Scots weren't sitting on it. Nicola Sturgeon, the nationalist leader of the government, tweeted no less than 84 selfies in 11 days, smiling with all kinds of VIPS. I also know many entrepreneurs for whom the year, ruined by Corona, has been saved by the conference. Now it's time for the climate. ♦