Professor Hans Joosten:

I support what Dr. Moran said by giving the example of Indonesia. In that country, after 2050, it has simply been prescribed that all concession holders must raise the water levels to a minimum of 40 cm below the surface. Of course, those concession holders took this to court, but all the big companies have lost their cases because the judge correctly said it is the task of the state to protect its civilians and to secure the future. The result now is that if the water level drops for a longer time below 40 cm, then the concessions will simply be withdrawn. A monitoring system with 10,000 sites has been installed. The readings from those sites are plotted every second week and the results then centralised in a computer system. It automatically warns landowners that their water levels are too low. The system also monitors the meteorological outlook and predicts what can be done with rainfall to raise water levels. This is a system that works. It has been calculated that in this way emissions have been reduced by 270 Mt per year. This is possible simply by prescription. We must find such ways as well. Stupid things must be forbidden.