PowerShift

Abstract

Since the Industrial Revolution, fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas have provided the vast majority of energy used by our globalising civilisation. The rapid growth in energy use in the past 250 years has led to increasing fossil fuel usage, which has been the primary driver behind the ongoing climate emergency. Policy measures in the Netherlands aiming to reduce the country’s carbon emissions have so far been insufficient because of a lack of visioning and concrete strategies. A primary source of the persistent emissions is the Port of Rotterdam, which acts as Europe’s fossil fuel gateway as well as the most polluting port in the continent, due to the excessive petrochemical activities. The pollution is one of the causes of climate change, which threatens the Dutch landscape with possible extreme sea level rise and weather conditions. The main objective of this report is to imagine a carbon-neutral post-fossil fuel future where the changing water landscape is considered, and the Port-region of Rotterdam adopts a decentralised energy system by 2100.

Historical and social analysis of the ports’ position in the energy system together with the current policies of the energy transition was used to formulate goals and a conceptual framework. By using scenario building for uncertainties and their evaluation, a final vision of an inclusive energy transition was developed. To achieve the desirable systemic shift, this report outlines a set of development strategies through toolkits, new policies, and strategic sites namely in the Port of Rotterdam, Zeeland, Dordrecht, and the Green Heart. A detailed example of Port of Rotterdam is chosen to illustrate how specific actors can define the new energy-inclusive built environment.

This report aims to outline a transition pathway from the polluting and exclusive energy system towards a decentralised, sustainable, and carbon-neutral energy system that empowers communities and individuals in the Eurodelta region. A crucial element of the project is the establishment of a resilient energy system, taking in the consideration of sea level rise and worsening climate situation expected in the next decades. The integration of renewable energy, nature-based water management solutions and redevelopment of obsolete fossil-fuel scapes will transform the ports, urban centres, and peri-urban areas into a dispersed energyscape. This way, the new energyscape is inclusive and adaptive, allowing people to have a voice in their energy production while also being more in touch with nature.