With the new power grid that nine European countries are planning to install in the North Sea, the EU can easily increase the share of renewable energy to 30% by 2020, Justin Wilkes, policy director of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), told Deutsche Welle. We can only hope that the EU WILL raise its commitments and start to be a leader in developing stable renewables.

Unlinke the Desertec projects in the MENA countries and in Southeast Asia, the project headed by the Commission can produce results within ten years. Its success or failure will be an important milestone for the two projects; projects with a greater development character than the North Sea grid. European success will show whether the ambitious development projects can work or not. The essential questions for success or failure in the North Sea are:

• will the participating countries fully cooperate, invest their resources and clear out legal obstacles? Or will fearful national politicians maintain a backdoor? (in which case everybody loses according to the prisoners' dilemma)
• will the participating enterprises and credit agencies make a long-term commitment that can endure setbacks?
• will citizens be prepared to give attention and donations to the project so that it can become a space for personal investment and personal identification?
• will the media continue to report about the issue, so that the climate change discussion can maintain the momentum it has at the moment?

If the European aspiration is to be the leader in renewable energy in the world, this project must not fail. Since Copenhagen, the international negotiations are even less of a common global effort and even more of a national power game. The Chinese lion has woken and will claim a greater say in global politics. After the soft power approach has failed in Copenhagen, the EU can win back its influence through enormous, astonishing success in its own front yard. The North Sea grid will be a test case: Can European countries unite for the greater good, orwill we have another lose-lose situation as in Copenhagen?


Cross-posted on my blog