Page 15 - Luce 2021

P oint of View

One of the challenges of climate economic return that cover the costs, Finally, do you think we are in time to
change is convincing voters to trust regardless of how inefficient the process avert catastrophic climate change, and
in new technologies in terms of costs is? If you have no emission and you are what will determine the outcome?
and jobs: how should this argument wasting clean energy, so what?
be prosecuted, and is there a role for Actually, it worries me deeply that
universities in leading the charge? This applies in the building sector also. we won’t be in time. Unless we make
It is just silly to build a 6-star building governments responsive to citizens rather
This is a critical question and universities if the cost is much more expensive that than the incumbent businesses, the
have a significant role in changing the running the building on clean energy. policies will focus on keeping the existing
way many in the place think. Too often Basically, once a building is operating carbon and exploitative system in place.
engineers lose sight of the economics of on clean energy it is just a question of I simply don’t understand why businesses
a project and head down an efficiency cost and you need to analyse the cost that don’t vote and who have no children
rabbit hole. I see that often in the implication. can use financial donations to buy policies
discussion of hydrogen and energy that work against the interest of individual
efficiency. Also, I don’t see universities really citizens.
looking at the technology we need
In the hydrogen area, engineers often now. We need chemical engineers This can be fixed with donation reform.
jump up and down about the round trip – not electrical engineers – in the No business should be able to donate to
engineering efficiency of the process. hydrogen/ammonia game. All plastics political parties, and even donations from
They claim it can’t work because it and material will be made from citizens should be capped at a level that
is highly inefficient. What they fail to renewable material of clean energy. The the average citizen can afford. We need
understand is that if the power used is role of chemical engineering is massive a system that makes the government act
clean, the amount you use is largely and I still don’t see universities ‘getting in the interest of the people not in the
irrelevant. The question is this: can you with the program’. interest of large donors.
produce a product that produces an

J anet Clarke Hall 15