German minister criticises UK’s renewables record | Environment | guardian.co.uk
The policy had also had the effect of creating new, world-class industries which had created 250,000 jobs and billions of euros of exports a year. Germany was building the industries of the 21st century and had huge first-mover advantage, he said.
“Climate change is not only about threats and costs but about huge economic opportunities for our countries. Climate change and economic growth can go together if we build the right framework,” he said.
See, this is the bit that I’d wondered about. Surely if you pump money into research on renewables, you end up with technologies that you can flog to replace the resources that are disappearing. And being first in the world with whatever it is that the boffins come up with has to be good for the economy? Not that I understand economics, it makes my head hurt. And I’m not convinced that we should be able to flog technologies that could improve energy usage, but my deeper musings on morality of ownership of ideas aside, that is the way that the world currently works, so I return to the idea that surely we should be doing all we can to encourage renewables across the board? And we manifestly aren’t.
But I can’t see what you do to influence politicians to think this way, and I’m not about to give up current career to go into politics, so I guess I’ll just have to make do with the status quo.
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