Jan Rotmans

Omarm de chaos by Jan Rotmans and Mischa Verheijden is one of the most popular books about climate change and the anthropocene in the Netherlands at the moment.

The most memorable about this books is the final chapter. In this last part, the author projects his vision for the future of the Netherlands. While in other sources four main possible scenarios are circulated, Rotmans highlights an extreme version of the '"wet scenario" which means living with more water. In this scenario the Netherlands reverts to becoming the wet Rhine delta that it originally was, about 10,000 years ago. All manmade land is given back to the sea, with the whole polder landscape inundated, and some large and small urban centres behind the dunes. It is not very clear how the urban area of Amsterdam could still exist, but Rotmans projects other urban areas in the north (Friesland) and the east and southeast of the country.

The names of two authors are written on the cover of Omarm de chaos. Apparently, Rotmans is the academic, while Verheijden has popularized the book. Although Rotmans tries to convince the reader that his personal approach to this book is sincere and has come about after a crisis in his life which made him turn on his heels to approach the world in an entire different, much more engaged style, I still feel that this is probably very much the work of his co-author, and that it is a rhetorical style chosen to encroach upon the reader, thereby making the book more acceptable. After all, rather than being an academic in an ivory tower, the author seems to be "one of us".

A second drawback on this book it its entire overall sweeping nature. The author does not only propose that in order to stop climate change we should reduce carbon emissions and therefore have to go through an energy transition. Rather, Rotmans claims that society has to simultaneously complete 10 transitions, preferably all within the next 20 years. Besides an energy transition, the author outlines ten systematic transition, namely for energy, resources, circulatory, agriculture and food production, spacial planning, finance, education, healthcare, social and (democratic) political.

About half of the book is devoted to describing the causes and effects of climate change and the necessity for an energy transition in order to reduce carbon emissions. Only 65 pages are devoted to the other 9 transitions (out of a total of 300 pages).

While the author appears to be an expert in the field who has published several other books about the topic, and this book seems to bring all his insights together, Omarm de chaos seems to be visionary rather than realistic.… (más)