“In the coming years, emissions of CO2 will have to be reduced 17 times faster than in recent years,” according to a McKinsey report on the energy transition published last Friday. Achieving this will require substantial investment, in the order of some 10 billion euros every year for twenty years.
Europe. I don’t really want to talk about it in depth, but just mention it. Ultimately, from a ‘global’ perspective there are sufficient reasons for reinforcing trade and for having a stronger voice with respect to the other world powers. But from a ‘local’ perspective, there are plenty of reservations about the plethora of rules that are imposed and their interpretation. These result in excessive procurement rules and an exaggerated fear of state aid.
“We are perhaps the world’s biggest dividend payer. That’s also important.” A remarkable statement by Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell, in Het Financieele Dagblad on Tuesday May 24th. He also said: “The ten largest solar cell companies in the world together invest $5 billion a year; last year Shell invested $30 billion. Together, the ten largest solar energy companies have never made a profit or paid out a dividend.”
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Some companies and industries are trapped by their own business model. As a result, systems are kept in place that are in fact no longer viable, because these companies are incapable of leaving the old economy behind and going for real innovation. These companies have every interest in maintaining their own circular reasoning.
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In early April I was in Boston at the invitation of AACSB, an organisation that accredits business schools throughout the world, including the Rotterdam School of Management. In this respect, RSM is in good company, alongside schools such as MIT in Boston and Harvard University.
Procurement rules, which were originally brought in as a means of providing protection against unfair competition, have in practice turned out to be a bureaucratic, costly circus that certainly does not exclude unfair competition. Examples such as the fiasco surrounding the Fyra trains and the tendering procedure for police vehicles have of course received extensive media coverage. However, those cases that do not get reported on are actually the ones that harm small businesses the most.
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The population of the Netherlands is ageing. It is estimated that one quarter of the population will be over the age of 65 in 25 years’ time. Approximately one in three of those will be older than 80. This means that even fewer people will be working for even more non-employed people
My previous column about the ending of all sorts of subsidies on fuels and agriculture (24 December 2015) caused quite a stir. It is always exciting to work with figures. There are other agricultural subsidies besides those from the EU.
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History was made at the recent Climate Summit in Paris. In the words of the Dutch State Secretary for the Environment, this is something that comes to known as “green history”. Members of the delegations fell into each other’s arms, tears in their eyes, followed by an ovation lasting several minutes.
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