EU-Kommission will Europa elektrifizieren, Wasserreserven schrumpfen weltweit, Niederlande planen fossilen Ausstieg

00:00:00: Since

00:00:00: the start of this conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, imported fossil fuels cost us an additional €.

00:00:15: So we

00:00:16: need to double down on our affordable and homegrown clean energy – be it renewables or nuclear, biomethane or others technologically neutral.

00:00:28: But these energies must give us independence and drive down energy prices.

00:00:35: For this independence, we need to electrify

00:00:38: you.".

00:00:39: That's why electricity, oil and gas should be replaced in more and more areas.

00:00:49: And the power is to be generated in Europe so that the EU will become independent of energy imports.

00:01:11: Hello and welcome to a new climate update, the news podcast by Climate Reporter and the TATS!

00:01:17: We talk here every week about three most important climate news.

00:01:21: My name is Sandra Kirchner from Climate Reporter – today I'm talking with my colleague Verena Kern.

00:01:26: Hello Verena!

00:01:27: on September the eighteenth of October, two thousand and twenty-six.

00:01:35: And these are our three topics today.

00:01:38: First we talk about that the EU wants to accelerate the expansion of renewable energy.

00:01:44: then it is about the state of global water resources.

00:01:50: a new report from the World Weather Organization shows that this resource will become less.

00:01:58: And finally, the new energy plan of the Netherlands.

00:02:02: Thus, the dependence on energy imports should be reduced and the conversion of the energy system will be carried forward.

00:02:10: Let's take a look at what this plan brings.

00:02:13: Exactly!

00:02:13: But let us start with quite good news.

00:02:16: The EU wants to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies.

00:02:20: That has been announced by the CEO of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen in mid-week when she held her annual speech before the European Parliament about the position of the Union.

00:02:31: Europe has to be electrified more strongly, as von der Leyen said.

00:02:35: The goal is that the Commission should increase its electrification level by about two thousand and forty degrees.

00:02:42: At this moment there's a part of electricity.

00:02:47: The total energy consumption in the EU is approximately twenty-two percent.

00:02:52: And the target would be up to two thousand... to reach about forty percent.

00:02:56: In a short time period, the development of the renewable power plant has come to an end in Europe in recent years.

00:03:02: In year two thousand and twenty-five, half of electricity was already generated from renewable sources in the EU but especially in traffic, heat and industry.

00:03:14: There is still a lot of oil and gas needed.

00:03:19: so

00:03:21: that's exactly what the EU wants to take into account now.

00:03:25: Yes, but first... only an announcement, because no additional windmill has been set up or a additional solar system was screwed on the roof.

00:03:33: That's clear but it is indeed important signal that shows where the EU wants to go namely to accelerate with a renewable expansion But also small restrictions.

00:03:48: we have heard in the intro, nuclear power is also included What doesn't seem to be so fitting, because homegrown and affordable.

00:04:00: So homemade what Ursula von der Leyen said that it's not at all nuclear

00:04:06: power.

00:04:06: And interesting is which reasons of the line?

00:04:09: It is called the very high rising costs for fossil fuels.

00:04:14: Since the beginning of the Iran War, the EU has spent another ninety billion for the introduction to these fossil fuels.

00:04:21: That's what the EU-Commissioned President has shown, and that without getting more than just a single energy molecule.

00:04:30: In other words, for the same amount it had to be spent on more than ninety billion.

00:04:35: Yes through the

00:04:36: closure of the street from Hormuz you have got to feel pain once again.

00:04:44: So he said by himself how expensive Europe is in general dependent upon imported fossil fuels And wordly, that's why we have to do much more with our own wasteful and clean energy in order not to become independent.

00:05:03: The Commission estimates that the import costs of € two hundred sixty billion could be saved if the EU manages to achieve up until twenty forty the currently mentioned electrification goal.

00:05:16: I would like that the Federal Government or Chancellor Merz would also hold such a speech and form such goals.

00:05:31: Yes, with our third topic I can already say that we will see the other European countries have a few more ideas than Germany.

00:05:38: But

00:05:38: now let's go to the second topic.

00:05:41: It is about the condition of world-wide water resources.

00:05:45: It means sweet water so what people, animals and plants really need in life.

00:05:50: And exactly these water resources are going back.

00:05:54: They become smaller.

00:05:55: That has a series of reasons.

00:05:57: One reason for this the climate change.

00:06:00: The World Weather Organization, WMO, has presented its annual report on the condition of global water resources yesterday and the most important result is as I just said that there's an increasing number to be observed.

00:06:19: The water cycle says so that the report became more irregularly undeclared And there is too little and too much in between, so on the one hand there are holes.

00:06:31: On the other side there were floods.

00:06:34: We

00:06:34: have experienced that this year as well – extreme heat waves, extreme droughts... ...and extremely low water in the rivers….

00:06:42: …so that the Binsch-Fahrt problems could be solved.. ..and even the federal government allowed the Sunday driving ban for LKW to catch up with the transport industry under their arms!

00:06:52: This extremely dry year of twenty-six and twenty-five, which was not only in Germany so dry.

00:06:56: That is in the WMO report now no longer significant because as always the report refers to the previous year,

00:07:02: i.e.,

00:07:02: two thousand twenty five, since for the course of a year there are still not all data.

00:07:07: So it's.

00:07:08: It is possible that the next report, which will appear in the coming year, will be even more severe.

00:07:17: Or rather it's about getting out of there.

00:07:19: But also the report for twenty-five years has been in itself.

00:07:23: We are counting on the

00:07:26: most important points.

00:07:28: For the rivers worldwide was one of the driest years since nineteen ninety-one, i.e.

00:07:37: for thirty five years.

00:07:38: That means normal amount of water was registered into so few rivers as three decades no longer and this anomaly can already be determined for seven years.

00:07:51: And

00:07:51: to express that in concrete

00:07:54: numbers,

00:07:55: in two thirds of the worldwide entry areas, the flows are loud.

00:07:59: The report, lower than normal and with drain is meant that the water volume that flows to a certain point of time in one place through a river or only in every third river worldwide is so much water flowed.

00:08:14: you would call it still normal.

00:08:16: In the period between nineteen ninety-one and two thousand twenty was almost each

00:08:24: second river.

00:08:25: Terrestrial water storage, which has been shrinking for a good ten years.

00:08:30: This is the total amount of groundwater, lakes and rivers, humidity in the ground and vegetation as well as ice and snow.

00:08:41: In all these important storage areas it's since mid-of the year two thousand and tenths to draw a continuous downward trend.

00:08:49: The chief of the WMO Celeste Saulo It has said that these spokes can be imagined as a savings account.

00:08:59: And with this one you could, for example, compare it to a duration period in the past but we are now counting on this saving account.

00:09:10: Last year, so in twenty-five years, the amount of water in forty two percent of land areas was quite high in average.

00:09:20: Yes important in this context Of course, there are also glaciers that save a lot of water but lose more and more.

00:09:29: In the glaciers in all regions of the world there was a wide-spreaded return and this is already the fourth year in a row And when you calculate it together one comes to the time frame from two thousand twenty three up to twenty five on a loss of a thousand four hundred gigatonne water writes the WHO report And she also provides a comparison of how much water it actually is.

00:09:58: Namely, the amount of water you could fill up to five hundred and sixty million swimming pools,

00:10:05: i.e.,

00:10:05: those used in Olympic Games or about one third of the annual freshwater recovery.

00:10:11: And very important too

00:10:13: – the groundwater level is rising according to the report by many regions worldwide.

00:10:21: Especially affected are, I'll count them up.

00:10:23: Middle and Eastern Europe The Central USA Parts of Mexico North and Central Chile The Northeast and the Middle East Brazilians The North South Africa The Northwest India And parts of South Australia.

00:10:43: This can also be observed for several years.

00:10:46: in sequence The WMO speaks from one cumulative deforestation with a multi-year drying

00:10:56: trend.

00:10:56: And now some words about the reasons for the return of water resources, one reason is the use of groundwater storage so that too much will be taken away when it can rebuild itself from agriculture or industry but also on climate change.

00:11:16: Exactly!

00:11:17: At rising temperatures, more water is diluted.

00:11:21: The soil dries out and the water ends up in the atmosphere which can absorb more water at higher temperatures.

00:11:26: This often leads to strong rain events where very much water comes down in a short time that then flows over the river into the sea.

00:11:38: So the water does not go away but it spreads differently and it is often no longer where you need to be.

00:11:45: Of course, this also depends on

00:11:47: the fact that in the past it was exactly as it was intended so that water flows quickly.

00:11:54: You have drainers and drainage systems built, moor landscapes dried up and mooring benches in the forest drain so that you can drive better with a machine.

00:12:05: and the tree species that grows better.

00:12:08: And this logic, you have to convert it now... ...and say we're worried about letting more water stay in the landscape... so as not to sink there again or fill up the groundwater storage.

00:12:19: That's already being unified.

00:12:21: but of course that is a tedious thing because many people who work on land and forestry must be convinced they are doing something

00:12:33: good!

00:12:33: Now let's talk about the Netherlands.

00:12:35: Our neighbor has set up a new energy plan this week, with which the Dutch government wants to reduce their dependence on energy imports and the conversion of the energy system forward.

00:12:51: The plan itself speaks for an responsible recovery of fossil fuels.

00:12:58: The document shows how the country wants to accelerate the electrification of its energy system and get out of fossil fuels.

00:13:10: Climate Minister Steintje van Veldhoven mentioned several goals in his presentation.

00:13:16: The Netherlands should be more focused on coal, oil and gas, use more offshore wind power and nuclear power and their industrial-ecological equipment.

00:13:30: It is also important to go into the power lines

00:13:34: closely.

00:13:34: With this plan, the Netherlands and France are the second country that has set up a national travel plan for the exit from fossil fuels.

00:13:43: France had planned its plans in spring of this year according to the Santa Marta Conference.

00:13:49: This international conference took place in April at the Colombian city of Santa Martaa And that's where the international unified transition from fossil fuels with specific steps took place.

00:14:04: In addition to Colombia, the Dutch guests of this conference were also present at the representatives of about fifty-seven states and more than a thousand

00:14:16: five hundred participants came together.

00:14:17: Yes then let us see what the Dutch government is going through with their energy plan.

00:14:22: By the end of this year, the country should become climate-neutral.

00:14:28: By the beginning of this spring, the European climate plan is aimed at a netting of less than ninety percent of greenhouse gas emissions by now nineteen hundred and ninety percent.

00:14:42: The energy system should be basically rebuilt for that purpose.

00:14:46: In order to get rid off fossil fuels, the plan focuses mainly on electrification.

00:14:51: That means Where oil and gas will be used today, there should be as much power as possible for use in traffic, heating or the industry.

00:15:03: The route is still far, at this time around four to five kilometers.

00:15:10: the entire energy consumption of the Netherlands on oil, gas and

00:15:14: coal.

00:15:15: And instead of that, electricity should play a much larger role in the future.

00:15:22: Today it makes about one-fourth of its capacity to actually use household traffic and economy.

00:15:27: By the end of this year, it will be a good half.

00:15:31: However, more electricity has to be generated for that purpose as well.

00:15:34: Therefore, the plan is set on a strong expansion of wind and solar energy.

00:15:38: With offshore wind power, the plans are planned to be built up from two thousand forty-four to thirty to forty gigawatts.

00:15:46: And also the solar energy should grow vigorously.

00:15:50: The installed performance shall become more than three times higher by then.

00:15:54: But also the nuclear power is supposed to be built next to the existing power plant in Borsela.

00:16:00: There are two new nuclear power plants planned.

00:16:03: All this should contribute, oil, gas and coal, back-to-back, but a fixed time plan for the complete expansion of the plan does not call it that!

00:16:15: In fact, the use of fossil fuels for a long time should go down to zero.

00:16:22: The path there looks very different for the individual energy carriers .

00:16:31: At Klaasden the route is still at the coal mine.

00:16:34: It only provides an even larger part of the Dutch electricity and from twenty thirty.

00:16:38: it must not be used anymore for power production.

00:16:41: After that, coal will mainly be needed for steel production.

00:16:44: In this area, coal should be replaced later.

00:16:48: When exactly?

00:16:49: But that remains

00:16:50: open.

00:16:50: And much more careful is the Dutch government with greenhouse gas.

00:16:56: The consumption should gradually decrease and go to zero in the long run but at the transition time it keeps the plan for gas necessary to generate electricity if wind and sun do not provide enough energy.

00:17:10: And also, in the year of two thousand and forty, gas is still needed for energy systems.

00:17:15: That's why liquid gas imports remain important to LNG as well.

00:17:19: First when the gas consumption decreases, then these energy imports should go back.

00:17:28: So there is no concrete expansion date for gas.

00:17:31: And in addition, the Netherlands want to promote a large part of the most needed gases themselves.

00:17:37: It's even expected that gas fields will be extended into the North Sea and production should only go back with the reduced consumption

00:17:50: of gas.

00:17:50: Oil is mainly used in traffic.

00:17:52: until the end of the year Electrically, gasoline and diesel would be replaced by electricity.

00:18:05: In the air and shipyard and in the chemistry there is the opposite of difficult.

00:18:11: There liquid fuel and raw materials are still needed longer.

00:18:15: That's what the plan looks like but they should be replaced with renewable

00:18:21: ones.

00:18:22: Yes, without fossil fuels it goes according to the plan.

00:18:25: So also in the coming decades not And that's why I want the Dutch government on divorce and conservation of CO₂.

00:18:36: so especially where oil and gas can't be replaced as quickly.

00:18:39: Climate neutral does not mean automatically fossil free.

00:18:44: Nevertheless, the plan is an important step.

00:18:46: It describes precisely how the Netherlands

00:18:48: want to reduce

00:18:49: their dependence on oil and gas and coal.

00:18:52: But it remains at the crucial points of value for oil and gasoline.

00:18:58: There are no concrete evidences and domestic gas emissions that should continue and even be expanded.

00:19:07: The

00:19:08: former chief of UN climate secretary Ivo de Beurre requires a clear selection of color plans.

00:19:15: The Netherlands would have, at the conference by Santa Marta himself for this transition, he says and now they should also drive him to their own country in advance if you want to stay faithfully.

00:19:29: For a country like the Netherlands that is built on a river delta it has been an issue of economic survival, competition ability and national security.

00:19:41: That was the climate update for this week, thank you very much for listening!

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00:20:06: and have a nice weekend!

00:20:12: Bye!

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