Jens-André P. Herbener was walking around a few years ago and felt uncomfortable. Uncomfortable about the state of the planet. But then he started writing. This week’s guest in “Tankelima” is an example of the importance of acting – even when the challenges are global in nature. How are you affected by all the crises in which the world finds itself today? “I honestly get worried. It’s not particularly inventive, but that’s how it is. I have, among other things, a nine-year-old daughter, and she has an unconditional trust in the future and her parents. There is nothing more important to me than living up to this trust. But with a global climate crisis, biodiversity crisis and now also a war, which holds a deadly escalation potential, there are things, there are easier.” What is the last crisis that you came out of stronger? “A few years ago I almost went into the black because of the planetary crises. But doing something has helped. To act. The most important thing is that I have written a book called “Oekocracy”. After extensive studies, I came up with a number of action areas, which will be able to make the Earth sustainable for both humans and other species.” “It has been very motivating to arrive at a knowledge of what is needed to turn the supertanker around. To know that there is a way out of the quagmire we ourselves have created, and both fully viable and attractive alternatives to the status quo. But it is no cliché to add that the green transformation of society can only go too slowly. It is really urgent, as a number of experts are stressing over time.” Have you recently changed your attitude towards something in relation to sustainability? “When I started writing the book, I probably shared to some extent the widespread view that our society can continue as it is now in important areas, and that we could get relatively far with the help of technological innovation. But I discovered that our problems with sustainability are far more extensive and run far deeper. At least, if we are also to save Earth’s other species, and we must for many reasons.” “In short, it is not enough that we replace fossil fuels with green energy. We also have to stop our cultivation of constant economic growth, mass consumerism, enormous consumption of animal foods and our treatment of nature as a warehouse and a dumping ground. And then we must also reduce the great economic inequality and world population.” “One of the biggest surprises for me has been that there are no problem-free energy sources. Previously, it was a matter of course for me that solar and wind energy had the white hat on, and that nuclear energy had the black hat on. But in reality there are advantages and disadvantages to all energy sources.” “In the ongoing debate, it is mentioned e.g. all too rare, that solar energy takes up on average 133-140 times more space than nuclear energy, and that wind energy takes up on average 1,000 times more space than nuclear energy. And when, above all, there is much more space for nature, which is needed, if we are to slow down the sixth mass extinction, in many countries you cannot avoid supplementing solar and wind energy with nuclear energy.” What is your sustainability passion that others don’t know or value enough? “One of them is the large population growth in the world, which is unfortunately surrounded by such a polarized debate that important facets and nuances are often lost in the powder fog. Some believe that a population reduction will solve more or less all our problems. Others believe that the rich are to blame for the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis; The number of people, on the other hand, is irrelevant.” “I completely agree that the rich countries bear the main responsibility for the planetary crises. There are many numbers, there shows. But here the solution is not simply that we rich scale down our consumption, but also that we become fewer consumers. E.g. for a western middle-class family, it is far more efficient to have one smaller child than to ditch the private car and travel to exotic holiday destinations, when the emission of greenhouse gases is to be reduced.” “But there should also be a population reduction in poor countries, but here the main reason is different. Not only are many of these countries experiencing gigantic population growth in these years, and not only are many of them very hot and dry. It is typically also those who will be hardest hit by global warming, who risk making more and more land uncultivable and ultimately uninhabitable. Together, it’s a diabolical cocktail for themselves. But it will also, to a large extent, affect the rest of the world.” “The point is that we not only need smaller ecological footprints, but also fewer feet. And to prevent any misunderstanding: The population reduction must of course be done voluntarily: Via information about the matter, family planning, access to free contraception, free abortion, modern schools and education for all, strengthening of equality and human rights.” What makes you hopeful at the moment? “That an awareness that we cannot continue our society which is now spreading more and more among politicians and people in general. And that more and more people are working to find solutions.” “But it has to go much stronger than today.”
ttn-70
Thought climate: “A few years ago I almost went into the black because of the planetary crises. But doing something has helped. To act”
