To move forward, we must show a dream to catalyze energy, strike the imagination
COP 21 challenges are first polical, but on the islands, warming is a reality!
For Alain Gioda, climate historian at UMR IRD Montpellier, “COP 21 can not be a total success but it can show that we can do better. To move forward, we must show a dream to catalyze energy, strike the imagination. In El Hierro, the “100% renewable energy”, it is a goal to put the bar very high.
There is always some reluctance. Experience shows that there are two forms of dealing with such projects. Some are wary of engineering sciences. They do not like the machines. Others, conversely, believe that technology will solve everything. Those sometimes speak of “the ecology of the goat or the candle.” Between these two groups, there is a large space that I propose to occupy.
“For this to work, you need people to take ownership of their territory”
This is what happens in Samsø, an island of Denmark (where electricity comes entirely from renewable energy). It is only once this appropriation has been made that technicians can provide solutions. In El Hierro, we are somewhat in between. The project was not born from the bottum. This is initially a technological project of an elected. But people have almost always appropriated the project in carrying proponents to power through elections in over 30 years.
The islands’energy is often generated by fossil fuels which production method is more expensive than renewable energy (2 to 5 times).
The local energy production offers more independence, less risk of armed conflict and an extraordinary opportunity for a territory development. The public health is also a strong motivation, when the air pollution becomes too strong, for example.
In fact, everything is ready for a real energy transition. It lacks human commitment and political will to face the overpowering lobbies. It is also a matter of generation.
