A global village

So, we finally land here in a new nation, on a new continent, and for many in a new culture. But, is it worth it? There are many reasons for leaving one’s home country. For students, a foremost reason is to get a level of education not accessible in our home countries. Another reason is to experience a new culture and environment, to see the world from a different perspective. But whatever the reason, one thing is for sure: the world has become one small global village, and it is we, the village’s inhabitants, who must try to make this village a lively and pleasant one. 

Yet, when we look around, we’re never able to look at the village as a single entity. Instead, we’ve been hardwired to view this global village as 195 different entities, matching the 195 different countries in the world. But in an international setting like TU Delft, where you’ll find at least 10 countries represented in a single classroom, there ought to be a uniting factor. This uniting factor turns out to be that we’re all thousands of miles away from the places we call home.

A void created in a barren soul that has come in search of greener pastures. This void can be filled by nothing less than the oneness we feel from interacting with people hailing from places unknown to us until the moment we met them. These interactions foster feelings of friendship and brotherhood
between young souls from different countries. And this is also a reason stated as the policy of several governmental organizations promoting international education.

Nuffic, the organization that promotes Dutch higher education abroad, says it ‘encourages cooperation’ among several countries. As an individual from a non-EU country, I cannot comprehend the exact reason for fostering this kind of cooperation. But, as an individual from the global village, I can definitely say this kind of cooperation is absolutely necessary if we need a village that can be viewed as a single entity, rather than 195 different entities. 

Getting along with someone from a culture totally different from ours is not something we can do easily. But therein lies the secret of making this global village a better place to live. Yet in this age of globalization and liberalization, there are several ridiculous hindrances to making this global village a reality. These hindrances are religion, language, culture and… what not. But we, as individuals from a rationalist school of thought, need to think beyond the barriers created by these hindrances. Getting along with every single person irrespective of their upbringing or culture must be a major lesson during our stay abroad. 

Hence, we need not worry about the results of our interactions with others. The others are here for exactly the same reason as us: to get something they cannot get in their own countries. Worrying just makes life worse. Or as Baz Luhrmann says: ‘Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.’ So let us stop worrying. Let’s make the best use of our stay abroad, and let’s make this global village a pleasant reality.

“Coal-fired power stations must be abolished in the years to come. With these stations governments will never reach their national emission caps. Carbon capture and sequestration is a mirage. Governments are lead by the fossil lobby.”

According to de Volkskrant newspaper, the much-applauded statements above made by James Hansen, a  Nasa researcher, during the meeting of the Club of Rome last Monday in Amsterdam were embraced by the Dutch minister for energy, Jacqueline Cramer, who also gave a speech at this meeting. And this is a remarkable turn of events, because a few years ago Cramer issued permits to energy companies to build four more coal-fired power stations.
“Cramer took a ‘laissez faire’ approach, and apparently she now realizes that that may not have been such a good idea,” says electricity market expert, Dr Laurens de Vries, of the Energy and Industry section (faculty of Technology, Policy and Management).

“Energy demand was rising in the Netherlands when she took her decision. She thought that energy companies would receive an incentive from the European market for carbon credits to invest in clean technologies.
“If more electricity would be produced with coal-fired power stations, the price of carbon credits would go up, she thought, which in turn would stimulate investments in clean energy because there is a cap on the total volume of carbon dioxide that may be emitted. If companies exceed the amount they may emit, they have to buy credits from other companies.”
Carbon credits are a key component of national and international attempts to mitigate the growth in concentrations of greenhouse gases. One carbon credit is equal to one ton of carbon and costs, at the moment, about 15 euro. All countries within the European Union participate in what is known as the European Emission Trading Scheme.

Until now companies received free credits, but between 2012 and 2020 the number of credits given away to the electricity sector will decrease to zero, allowing for the carbon trade to be really driven by the free market.
“The problem is that it’s very difficult for energy companies to estimate what the future price of the credits will be,” De Vries says. “That price depends on how many credits will be issued each year, on future energy demand and on the investment choices – in more or in less polluting technologies – by competing companies. Due to this uncertainty, the incentive to invest in for example carbon capture and sequestration or biomass is not very strong. Another problem is that energy companies are not necessarily affected that much by high prices for carbon credits. They can pass much of the cost of credits on to the consumers.”

Of course in the long run, these higher prices (which the custumer will have to pay) should provide an incentive for investment in cleaner energy alternatives. “But the transition to a more sustainable energy sector will take decades,” De Vries says. “Energy companies don’t look that far ahead. In the meantime, fossil fuel plants are economically still attractive. I think that Minister Cramer is now realizing that. She should have thought of it before she issued the permits for the current round of new coal plants. Now there is no way back and carbon capture and sequestration will be expensive at these plants.”