Climate action can't wait: Environmental orgs, left-wing parties after UN report

Businesses must "go green or disappear," and politicians must intervene much harder to combat global warming, environmental groups said in response to the latest report from the UN climate panel IPCC. The report emphasized the need to do more quickly to reduce CO2 emissions, left-wing parties said in a first response.

The IPCC said that climate change cannot be limited if world leaders fail to intervene. Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees is still possible, but only if action is taken now.

"The IPCC is crystal clear," said GroenLinks MP Suzanne Kroger. "We must rapidly reduce CO2 emissions. The chance to limit temperature change to 1.5 degrees is slipping through our fingers. So urgent action and extra ambition are needed to save energy and generate sustainable energy."

Christine Teunissen of the party for the animals PvdD spoke of an "alarming report." It "painfully shows what has been left behind and what is now needed to prevent the most serious climate change: behavioral change. So energy saving, more sustainable energy and transport, and less meat and dairy consumption."

"The emergency bell is ringing louder," Joris Thijssen (PvdA) tweeted. "But it seems that the governments of the world have their fingers in their ears," said the social democrat. "While the consequences are becoming more and more tangible: extreme weather, forest fires, unaffordable fossil energy, and increased poverty." According to him, the Cabinet lacks a clear vision and solution. "If sustainability remains something that only rich people can afford, it will never work." He asked for "fewer big words from the Cabinet and more big deeds."

The environmental organizations see the IPCC report as another confirmation that more climate action is needed to keep the planet habitable, with a temperature increase below 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times.

"We are in the midst of the critical years because if we want to keep the climate goals within reach, global greenhouse gas emissions must be halved by 2030," Greenpeace said, pointing to one of the IPCC's key conclusions. According to the organization, the IPCC showed that solutions are available. At the next climate summit, to be held in Egypt in November, countries "will have to respond to these IPCC findings and the severe lack of action," Greenpeace said. "The time of fossil fuels is over," added Andy Palmen of Greenpeace Nederland.

"Climate science is crystal clear: an awful lot needs to be done," Milieudefensie responded. The report "reaffirms the responsibility of both politicians and businesses." Milieudefensie has been trying to persuade 30 big polluting companies to achieve greater climate ambitions. The organization also won a lawsuit about this against Shell in 2019. With the ruling of The Hague court in hand, director Donald Pols and his employees have been pushing 29 other large companies to come up with an "ambitious climate plan" before April 15. These include ING, Schiphol, Ahold, and Unilever.

According to Milieudefensei, politicians should also introduce a "climate obligation" on companies. And government money should go to insulating houses, more public transport, and support for sustainability for people with lower incomes.

Healthcare workers, united in the Care for Climate group, also called on the government to listen to the IPCC. General practitioner Joreike van der Stelt said on behalf of the healthcare professionals that the IPCC report is an essential guideline for leaders to "put health and social justice first." She called it "high time to radically reduce our footprint and restore ecosystems."

Oxfam International said we should not just "release the accelerator, but step on the brakes hard." If not, humanity will face "increased hunger, disease, economic collapse, mass migration, and unbearable heat," the organization said.

Jonge Klimaatbeweging was frustrated by the report because everybody knows which measures must be taken, but nobody is doing it. "All the ingredients for a '1.5-degree society' are known, and we have been given the recipe. This must not fail. The Netherlands must force itself to achieve the climate goals because the alternative is not an option."