3 ms·

Given that the thought of the Netherlands conjures images of happy families in bakfiets {and jealousy on my part) I was startled to learn their per capita green

Given that the thought of the Netherlands conjures images of happy families in bakfiets {and jealousy on my part) I was startled to learn their per capita greenhouse gas emissions are among the worst in the EU.

ovi256 8y ago
They're an almost completely urban population with a high standard of living. Of course that needs energy and greenshouse emissions to make happen.
- isostatic 8y ago
  Urburnites claim that city living is cleaner (co2 wise) that living in the country
  - CalRobert 8y ago
    Living near the people and things you need, walking, cycling, and taking electrified public transport to said things, and multi-family dwellings allowing the use of district heating (or heat pumps powered by renewable energy) can drastically reduce your carbon footprint compared to living in the burbs and driving to everything. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/mar/23/city-dwellers-smaller-carbon-footprints https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/mar/23/city-dwe... Of course, you _can_ have a low carbon footprint in the country, but it's really hard, because those places are hostile to cycling and walking.
- MagnumOpus 8y ago
  An urban population should emit less GHG than the same population being spread out. And standard of living is not that much different from Denmark (20% less) or the UK (30% less).
  - ovi256 8y ago
    You're right for the Netherlands and the developped countries, of course. I confused this rural pop with developping countries' rural pop, which of course is a lot less energy intensive. As for the standard of living differences, are those numbers similar to the energy-per-capita differences between the same countries ?
mcv 8y ago
Our many consecutive right-wing governments aren't very eager to meet our CO2 reduction targets. Bad for business, they think. Some tax reduction for electric vehicles and green electricity is the best we got, and they're constantly looking for an excuse to end those. A big incentive for electric cars comes from cities, though: in Amsterdam, if you get an electric car, you get an electric charging spot in front of your house, which is effectively a private parking spot if you're the only one with an electric car. With the constant shortage of parking spots, this is huge.

ovi256 8y ago

They're an almost completely urban population with a high standard of living. Of course that needs energy and greenshouse emissions to make happen.

isostatic 8y ago
Urburnites claim that city living is cleaner (co2 wise) that living in the country
- CalRobert 8y ago
  Living near the people and things you need, walking, cycling, and taking electrified public transport to said things, and multi-family dwellings allowing the use of district heating (or heat pumps powered by renewable energy) can drastically reduce your carbon footprint compared to living in the burbs and driving to everything. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/mar/23/city-dwellers-smaller-carbon-footprints https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/mar/23/city-dwe... Of course, you _can_ have a low carbon footprint in the country, but it's really hard, because those places are hostile to cycling and walking.
MagnumOpus 8y ago
An urban population should emit less GHG than the same population being spread out. And standard of living is not that much different from Denmark (20% less) or the UK (30% less).
- ovi256 8y ago
  You're right for the Netherlands and the developped countries, of course. I confused this rural pop with developping countries' rural pop, which of course is a lot less energy intensive. As for the standard of living differences, are those numbers similar to the energy-per-capita differences between the same countries ?

mcv 8y ago

Our many consecutive right-wing governments aren't very eager to meet our CO2 reduction targets. Bad for business, they think. Some tax reduction for electric vehicles and green electricity is the best we got, and they're constantly looking for an excuse to end those. A big incentive for electric cars comes from cities, though: in Amsterdam, if you get an electric car, you get an electric charging spot in front of your house, which is effectively a private parking spot if you're the only one with an electric car. With the constant shortage of parking spots, this is huge.