Many say that Germany, which is in dire straits because it relies on Russia for natural gas, should have promoted renewable energy more. The photo shows a scene from former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s press conference during her visit to Russia. It is dated August 20, 2021, less than a year ago. (Photo: Afro)  Instead of building more power plants, think about not using them. That is the 21st century. What Japan needs to do is not only to develop renewable energy, says Yasuda.  “The idea of building power plants because there is not enough electricity is a Showa-era concept. Maybe we are using too much. Or perhaps the more we use, the more we are harming the environment.  If that is the case, it would be less expensive and faster to reduce the amount of electricity we use, rather than just building power plants. We need to change our thinking that way.”   One way to reduce the amount of energy used is through insulation.  The level of insulation in Japanese houses is so poor that it is unacceptable for a developed country, and buildings that are harmful to life and health, such as those with condensation, are even accused of human rights violations overseas.  If the insulation is good, less energy is used for heating and cooling. If you build a shoddy house, you are wasting energy for 20 or 30 years.  In Japan, the term energy conservation implies reducing consumption and sales, but the original purpose is to invest in new energy-efficient products and services and to promote innovation. The era of mass consumption is over. The idea of the 21st century is to give a gift to the future through new technologies with high added value.   While many things need to be done, it seems that raising electricity rates is inevitable. According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), about 20 new electric power companies, which have marketed themselves as being cheaper than the major power companies, have already ceased operations. I wonder if there isn’t some way to keep prices from going up.  If raw materials go up, it is only natural that the selling price will go up. If you force yourself to sell at a lower price, the more you sell, the more you lose money and you will end up going bankrupt.  Some say that tax breaks or subsidies should be offered to lighten the burden on users in response to higher gasoline prices, but this will only make the price look cheaper and postpone the problem to the future. If gasoline prices are high, we should hasten the shift from our current dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energy more and more, for example by hastening the introduction of electric vehicles and using renewable energy sources to produce electricity.  If prices are going to be higher due to the high cost of resources, then raising wages is in order.   But aren’t there some vulnerable people who would suffer if electricity prices were to rise?  I once asked the same question to a European policymaker, and he replied, ‘That’s a welfare policy problem. We should not put the inaction of welfare policy on the energy problem.  That is certainly true. If there are people whose lives and health are affected because they cannot pay their electricity bills, there are things that can be done even with the current legal system, such as increasing the percentage of people receiving welfare benefits. Without doing so, the government can only make a pretense of lowering energy prices because the economically weak are suffering, which is a complete reversal of the original plan. After all, it only postpones the fundamental problem to the future. We can only hope that the system will be enhanced to compensate for rising prices. Dr. Yo Yasuda is a specially-appointed professor in the Department of Renewable Energy Economics, Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University. D. (Engineering). Specializes in lightning-resistant design of wind power generation and grid interconnection issues. His work is to bridge the gap between technology, economics, and policy.   He is also the author of numerous energy-related books. His publications include “The Complete Collection of Renewable Energy and Power Systems in the World” (Impress R&D). He supervised the three-volume “Let’s Learn More About Renewable Energy” series for elementary and junior high school students (Iwasaki Shoten).