(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Under the heading "Yes, thank you for idealism!" WWF's Karoline Andaur joins me in Ny Tid no. 21–2015. She bombastically claims that it is necessary, possible and profitable to keep global warming below 2oC. Supporting these claims with facts would require several miles and cannot be expected, but here we are at a point that characterizes the climate and cold debate – the simple and repetitively repetitive claims of future disaster situations. Claims Kari and Ola take too good fish because it is simply too complicated to "quality assure" them. Only a fraction of the world's population is able to understand the natural conditions of climate change. The theme is therefore suitable for creating fear scenarios, and the accomplished common denominator, obviously ruling in international media, must be considered strikingly propaganda-oriented. That the Storting voted "safe" in the case was to be expected, but that the cause should be financial risk considerations, Andaur must take further into the country. Any energy investment should be virtually risk-free, and that share prices should have fallen by 50 per cent in one year probably have more to do with the general fall in energy (oil) than coal in coal form. It is easier to fire with oil than coal, and it is usually a simple matter for a heat power plant to go from oil to coal and save costs. But the world's big investors do not account for the Norwegian parliament, and probably buy happy charcoal shares at cheap sales – well helped by idealists.
Appealing. Andaur's claims of streams of refugees of different categories are easy-going, but fit for ideologically oriented ones that appeal to readers' hearts. To the extent that there really is some kind of statistics on this, there must be a question of credibility. It may be considered cynical to mention it, but refugees are regarded by some – tragically enough – as a business area, which it probably is – just as climate idealism has also become a worldwide livelihood.
The claim that Chinese scientists should have made about air pollution and life expectancy is also likely to be associated with major uncertainties – but as horror propaganda it is a useful topic to point out. What is certain is that there is technology that makes it possible to remove particulate pollutants in the exhaust gases from coal-fired power plants with efficiency levels so high that the plant almost becomes "smoke-free". There is also no great art to remove SO2 (Sulfur dioxide). This, the Chinese know, but it is a matter of profitability.
The fact that electricity generated from solar energy will be competitive for 80 percent of the world's population by 2020 seems so alluring that all problems should be solved if availability is there. It remains to be seen.
Næs is a technologist.
