Netherlands to hold major climate summit in 2020

The Netherlands will hold a major climate summit, comparable to the one in Paris almost three years ago, in 2020, Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure and Water Management announced at the presentation of a new global climate committee which will be established in Rotterdam and Groningen. The Global Commission on Adaption will draw up a global action plan against the consequences of climate change, among other things, NOS reports.

At the presentation on Monday, Van Nieuwenhuzien pointed out that the "harsh reality" of climate change is already clearly visible in every day life. In the Netherlands, for example, this past summer was dominated by drought and measures had to be taken to distribute water. "Climate change is taking place while we are speaking here", she said.

The climate summit in the Netherlands in 2020 will be comparable to the summit in Paris that resulted in the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. Though where the Paris summit focused on limiting greenhouse gas emissions and making sure global warming doesn't exceed 2 degrees Celsius, the one in the Netherlands will primarily focus on measures that countries can take to protect themselves against the effects of climate change, such as floods and extreme droughts.

Former United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon is one of the people that promised support for the Global Commission on Adaption. At the presentation of the committee he said that if something isn't done soon, we run the risk of "no longer being guaranteed food, energy and water in the coming years". No country can solve this problem alone and the next few years will be decisive, he said. "Let's do this together.

So far 17 countries, including Canada, China, Germany and India, announced that they will help with the Global Commission on Adaption. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio also promised his support.