The latest IPCC report is clear: the earth has warmed up by 1.1 degrees in the last 100 years, climate change is everywhere, man's role in this is 'unequivocal' and we must take action now to stop it. What would Jan Rotmans, professor in Transitions and Transitionmanagement at Erasmus University Rotterdam, do if he had his way? A CO2 tax on all harmful things you can think of, immediate closure of coal plants and a fund to compensate the lowest incomes for the costs.
In a Radio 1 broadcast of 1 op 1, Jan Rotmans says that it irritates him that the Netherlands does not dare to bite the bullet when it comes to climate measures, while we have known for decades what is needed. He would like to see all coal and biomass plants closed down immediately and the subsidies that are freed up invested in helping households to switch off from gas.
The climate problem is a distribution issue
Rotmans also has an eye for the social consequences of the climate transition and the possible divisions that this will entail: "Someone who lives two storeys up in the south of Rotterdam will suffer more than someone who lives in Blaricum. Start with the people with the lowest incomes, in the worst houses." Rotmans continues: "The climate problem is a distributional issue." In the broadcast, he therefore offers himself as climate minister for the new cabinet: "Make the Netherlands cleaner and show that it will be more fun."
A new Delta Plan
In addition, Rotmans argues in the Leeuwarder Courant for a large and comprehensive new Delta Plan for the Netherlands. This would include not only water, the sea and the rivers, but also all kinds of other aspects. Such as periods of drought, energy, environment, agriculture, housing, economy, legal matters and the impact on people. "We won't get there with engineers alone. We have to bring all the disciplines together. And we also have to do it together with nature, not against it."
Listen to the 1 op 1 broadcast with Jan Rotmans (in dutch)
Read the article in the Leeuwarder Courant (in dutch)
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