Quarter of Dutch home to have no gas connection by 2030

The Dutch government gave Diederik Samsom the job of making sure that a quarter of Dutch homes are off the natural gas network by 2030, the former PvdA leader said in an interview with newspaper Trouw on Friday. That equates to around 2 million Dutch homes.

Samsom will work as an advisor and commissioner at state energy company EBN, and also as negotiator for the Dutch Climate Agreement. VVD Minister Erik Wiebes of Economic Affairs and Climate asked Samsom to be the negotiator last month, he said.

According to Samsom, it is time for the Netherlands to switch to different energy sources. "Everyone knows that natural gas, a source of CO2 emissions, has no future due to climate change", he said to Trouw. The consequences of gas extraction earthquakes in Groningen give "extra urgency" to the need to stop using natural gas.