What needs to occur for the worldwide efforts and advances on climate protection and energy change to earnestly gain momentum and truly get going? “First, we have to bid fare-well to the unrealistic notion that emission targets will lead to any real impact in the individual regions. Instead, we have to step into the shoes of our grandchildren’s generation, imagine quite clearly the altered circumstances they will be facing and draw conclusions from that perspective“ says Manfred Faustmann of the Austrian “Impuls-Zentrum IF-NE”, a think- which focuses on initiatives for new energies.

IF-NE has developed the following five theses which it considers to be the key to a new energy and climate protection era.

1st thesis: Climate protection cannot be imposed on people by decree

A solution that is achieved by pressure from above will never be sustainable. Nor can it be a yardstick for what can really be achieved. If, in addition, a single long-term goal such as an emission target is set to serve as a benchmark for the whole process - a substantial “drag” effect is unavoidable. Indeed, a dynamic transition to the new energy and climate protection era can only be initiated “bottom-up“ , a process that can best be achieved by the comprehensive regionalization of the overall energyresponsibility (Graphic 1).

2nd thesis: In the very long run energy-imports will be obsolescent

The need to import energy is caused by the unequal global distribution of fossil (=old) energy resources such as oil, gas and coal as well as uranium. The closer we get to the depletion of these non-renewable resources, the more the significance of the renewable (=new) solar, wind, water and biomass energy resources will grow. As a matter of fact, the regional availability of these new energies is generally much higher than that of the old ones. Therefore, the basic need to import energy will dwindle with time (Graphic 2).

3rd thesis: Each region and its inhabitants will be the energy-managers of the future

Today energy-management is widely left over to international corporate groups. However, the more energy-matters become regionalized, the better each region and its population can gradually take over that task. The regions will become responsible both for the availability and supply of energy on the one hand and for optimizing its consumption and utilization on the other hand. It follows that they will also deal with its impact on the environment and climate. The energy-managers of the future will therefore be the individual regions and their population (Graphic 3).

4th thesis: Transferring responsibility to the regions will change the population’s attitude towards energy

In contrast to the current practice, a system of entirely regional energy-management will localize the cause-and-effect-chain. There will be no more need for rules that are imposed “top-down” or for external regulations. It is simple: the more energy is used, the more must be provided within the region. The competition between the different regions will lead to four steps towards sustainability (Graphic 4):

5th thesis: Living and doing business at the expense of someone else has no long-term future

The cornerstones of sustainability are long-term effectiveness, long-term availability and long-term compatibility. Any deviation from these requirements harms someone else: future generations, our living environment, another region or another population group. Sooner or later, directly or indirectly the initiator will have to foot the bill, even in the overall economy. If one gambles other people’s future, one damages one’s own prospects. Thus, the true opposite of sustainability is short-sightedness (Graphic 5).

Practical approach for a dynamic transition to the new era

Manfred Faustmann: “If one implements the above five theses in the current economic environment, one realizes that something fundamental is missing, namely a theoretical “What-if” model based on a supraregional energy-supply system in which energy is generated within each region and for each region. This would require a country to address the (theoretical) “just-in-case-question“ of how to safeguard the supply of energy for all its regions, if there were nothing else but local energy resources available. At this point in time it does not matter whether these would be fossil or renewable resources, as long energy requirements are covered entirely from within each region. Hence it is vital that the (theoretical) “regional-energy-solution-model” under no circumstances be influenced “from outside“ or “from above” but be developed solely within the region itself. Furthermore, there are different ways for a country to carve up its local regions (energy regions, political regions etc.). Any country can begin with its own “model“ by asking each of its regions to come forward with its own “what-if” energy-concept. And if one day we witness an international climate or carbon-footprint-reduction summit where each country presents all its (theoretical) “regional-energy-concepts”, then we will have made it to sustainability.“

Note to the Editor:

Impuls-Zentrum IF-NE was set up in April 2010 in Vienna (Austria) with the foundation of IF-NE GmbH (Initiativen für neue Energien = Initiatives for new energies) in order to foster and enhance the development of those companies and organizations which are already dedicated to renewable energies – but are not yet satisfied with their current development. At the same time Impuls-Zentrum IF-NE aims to strengthen any existing efforts on our way to a new energy and climate protection era by means of public initiatives and the development and launching of practical solutions.

For further editorial information please contact:

Sandra Krieger, Marketing & Communication

Email: s.krieger@if-ne.com, Tel.: +43.1.236.16.16

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