Coalition parties PVV, BBB already against Climate Minister's yet-to-be-formed plans

The coalition parties PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB are woefully divided on the Netherlands’ climate policy. Climate Minister Sophie Hermans (VVD) wants to introduce additional measures in the spring to give the Netherlands a chance to achieve its climate goals. She couldn’t say what measures - the Cabinet is still working that out, she said. But the PVV and BBB are already against it, NOS reports.

The Netherlands must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent in 2030, compared to 1990, as stipulated in Dutch law. Without additional measures, this target will almost certainly not be achieved, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) reported in the autumn. Statistics Nethelrands (CBS) reiterated that point on Wednesday. The decrease in Dutch emissions is leveling off, and more measures will be needed to achieve the climate goals, CBS said.

More measures against climate change require money, and the Cabinet is still working on distributing cash flows in the Spring Memorandum, the spring update to the national budget. It is clear that climate policy is not a priority for this right-wing Cabinet.

According to NOS, Hermans was clearly in a difficult position during the parliamentary debate on the climate policy on Tuesday. She stressed that she was working on measures to bring the climate goals back into sight, which she plans to present in the spring. She also repeatedly said that the Cabinet is “still working on a puzzle” regarding the climate policy and the budget. But did not say anything concrete.

Nevertheless, coalition parties PVV and BBB are already against any potential measures against climate change. According to the parties, Dutch households are already burdened with high energy bills caused by the transition to new forms of energy. PVV MP Raymond Knops referred to the 195 billion euros needed to strengthen the Dutch electricity grid, according to civil servants. “More than 10,000 euros per inhabitant!” he said indignantly.

The PVV does not want to continue with climate policy while previously devised measures sometimes turn out to be unfeasible, Knops said. The BBB also said that too many measures are being piled on top of each other, while some of those plans are already difficult to implement.

Opposition parties criticized Hermans from the other direction. GroenLinks-PvdA, D66, CDA, and PvdD, among others, accused the government of not following through. PvdD parliamentarian Christine Teunissen pointed to the already visible dangers of climate change: disappearing nature, increasing food insecurity, damage to infrastructure, health risks, and rising military conflicts.

Teunissen said that Hermans has to “work very hard,” harder in fact because she also has to deal with “three or four obstacles,” referring to the VVD Minister’s fellow Cabinet members. She pointed to Cabinet members “who want to open an extra airport” and “who think that recycling policy is only about plastic cups.” How does Hermans plan to get these colleagues on board with measures to achieve the legally established goals? Teunissen wanted to know.