Interview with Diederik Samsom: 
Diederik Samson is inspired by the ERC event Heat Transition: he explains the reason why we work together in the Netherlands and in Europe every day. 

In his keynote address, Diederik Samsom (Cabinet of EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans), elaborated on the implementation of the EU Green Deal. Combining ambition, knowledge, creativity and hard work are at the heart of the approach.  Diederik Samson: “The energy transition is more a social challenge than a technical one.” Asked by Jan Douwe Kroeske how we will succeed, given the unexpected COVID-19 crisis, Diederik Samson described the parallel with the financial crisis a decade ago, but also stressed the difference in responses. “Now we spend more public money, which also means more public involvement. All plans in the Green Deal that have a positive effect on jobs will be put in the front. It will also be about justice and fairness”, he explained. The renovation of 200 million buildings in the EU will be put on the top on the priorities list. Diederik Samson added: “The Green Deal will provide an opportunity to innovate renovation, scale it up and provide a boost in technical assistance. To make it work, more regulation will be essential. Driving forces that will make a difference in making it work are our resilience, our technological head-start, and our aim to creating a better world for our children.” He concluded: “The Netherlands is on a steep curve upwards, with solar as the biggest grower and offshore energy as the second fastest grower. The Dutch experience in using renewable heat in the district heating is a real differentiator within the EU market. If you put in the right plans, you can earn the EU money!”