Petition against Wopke Hoekstra's new EU climate job singed 27,500 times in 24 hours

A petition against the appointment of Wopke Hoekstra as European Commissioner for climate change policy was signed more than 20,000 times by Tuesday evening, just over 24 hours after it was launched. By Wednesday evening, the total neared 27,500. The protest action was organized by campaign agency DeGoedeZaak (DGZ), and is meant as an appeal to the Tweede Kamer, calling on members of the lower house of Parliament to nominate a candidate "who takes the climate crisis seriously."

Hoekstra is not the right person for the position, according to DGZ. The CDA member is currently both the caretaker minister of foreign affairs and a deputy prime minister. He was nominated as candidate for the open European Commissioner role last Friday.

The person who takes that role will succeed Labour member Frans Timmermans, who had climate policy as the bulk of his portfolio in Brussels. Hoekstra met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, who announced after the meeting that she would nominate him for the position.

"A Cabinet, especially if it is outgoing, must carefully deal with how it makes decisions,” said DGZ leader Jurnen van den Bergh. He accused caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte of crossing the line by unilaterally nominating Hoekstra, and said angered citizens must make their voices heard. DGZ wants the Tweede Kamer to return from recess to debate the issue.

Van den Bergh was optimistic about the chance of successfully blocking Hoekstra's appointment, calling it "quite realistic." The nomination was criticized by several groups, including politicians in the European Parliament and from nature and environmental organisations.