You seem resistant to the idea that the structure of the global energy economy cannot be pinned on flaws in the national character of this-or-that nation or put down to a collective moral failing.Scot Dutchy wrote: ↑Wed Aug 11, 2021 10:09 pmWhose fault was it that it fell into international hands? Greedy Ozzies no doubt. Any excuse is better than none. So a country cant control what is going on within its own borders? What is government for? Who is doing the digging?Brian Peacock wrote: ↑Wed Aug 11, 2021 2:43 pmThis is a misconception. In a trans-national economic environment one cannot point to this-or-that nation in this way. As Hermit pointed out Australian coal is owned an managed globally not nationally, and there's little chance of Ozzie coal being taken into public ownership. Climate distractors like to point the finger of blame at Australia or China for example, but they're less inclined to point the finger at those actually investing in these fossil fuel economies - not least because those financial interests are probably paying them to disrupt the conversation. The answer of course is to halt investment in the sector and the corporate welfare payments for the fossil fuel industry taken from the public purse which drive that investment, and to put that money to work solving the problem.Scot Dutchy wrote: ↑Wed Aug 11, 2021 12:59 pmWhen has Ozland ever pulled its weight? A great country for digging itself up and selling off its natural resources.
It is purely Ozland's fault. They sold it and they can take it back. Too many backhanders and brown envelopes.
Have you not noticed that the World lives under an economic system, which we still call Capitalism, that transcends international borders; one that left to its own devices will extract from the ground every last drop of coal, oil, and gas, every kilogram of mineral and ore, one that will deplete every aquifer and water source, turn every pasture into desert, poison the atmosphere and the land, and exploit every last citizen on Earth in the process? The end game of Capitalism is planetary death, as I believe Shakespeare once put it.
How many nations are rejecting Capitalism as an economic model at the moment? Is the Netherlands?
The Netherlands is home to a large concentration of energy and emission-intensive industries and remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels. From the period of 2008 to 2018 the share of fossil fuels in the total primary energy supply (TPES) of the NL fell only by 2%, from 92% to 90% (link: IEA report). Against that slight decline, in the four years from 2016 to 2020 NL energy subsidies and tax breaks increased by 10%, from €4.1bn to €4.5bn (link: OECD [pdf]). Over a similar period the NL pension firm ABP, the 5th largest in the world, increased its investment share in the fossil fuel sector by 17%, from €14bn in 2015 to €16.5bn by 2018 (link: Greenpeace), a state of affairs highlighted by Dutch climate protesters only last month.
How should we respond to this? Should we say, "So when has NL ever pulled its weight? A great country for investing in the digging up and selling off of natural resources."? Is that informative, or a useful contribution to the discuss? The thing is, the NL is unremarkable in this respect - it is just another Capitalist country embedded within the regional Capitalist system of the EU which is embedded within a global Capitalist system. The NL is just taking part in Captialism, in doing what Capitalism does: bleeding everything and everyone dry.
In September 2020 the European Commission recommended that the EU should set a domestic emission reduction target for each member state of at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030. How does that noble aspiration sit with the information above do you think?
As I said earlier, the whole house in on fire now. Instead of getting sucked into distracted and distracting complaints about China or Australia, you, as a citizen of the NL, should be turning to your own govt and demanding that they start tackling the inferno engulfing your corner of the property - as indeed should we all.