Former Environment Minister Ed Nijpels presented the Netherlands' Climate Agreement to Minister Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs and Climate on Tuesday. This concerns the agreement in broad terms, with some concrete goals set and agreements made. The rest will be worked out and finalized later this year. The aim is to implement the Climate Agreement in 2019, NOS and NU.nl report.
climate agreement
Jul 11 '18 09:42
Jun 21 '18 10:40
The climate table led by former PvdA leader Diederik Samsom is planning large shifts in energy tax in order to get individuals, businesses and housing corporations disconnected from the natural gas network. Over the next 12 years the negotiators want energy tax on gas to increase by around 75 percent, while tax on electricity decreases by over 50 percent. This gradual energy tax shift will almost certainly be included in the Climate Agreement, sources around the climate table said to the Volkskrant.
Apr 23 '18 13:50
Used cars from abroad are more popular than ever in the Netherlands, and that is bad news for the government's climate ambitions, according to car dealers' association RAI. In the first three months of this year, the Dutch imported a record number of over 56 thousand used cars from abroad, ANP reports.
Nearly a third of these imported used cars were an alternative to purchasing a new car in the Netherlands, according to RAI. On average, used cars emit 12 percent more CO2 than new cars, the association calculated.
Mar 27 '18 12:20
The Dutch government plans to build three more offshore wind farms, in addition to five new wind farms already agreed upon in the Energy Agreement. The government wants the total offshore wind farms to produce 40 percent of the Netherlands' current electricity consumption by 2030.
May 22 '17 11:05
American companies will face detrimental consequences if U.S. president Donald Trump decides to withdraw his country from the Paris climate agreement, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden warned in an interview with British newspaper Financial Times. Van Beurden is one of the first to criticize Trump's decisions from the business community, which is set to benefit from Trump's promises of tax cuts and relaxed rules, RTL Nieuws reports.
May 10 '17 08:47
The Wadden area may well be permanently under water before the end of this century, according to a study by TU Delft and Utrecht University on behalf or the Wadden Association. The study concludes that the impact of gas and salt mining has been underestimated, and drastic measures are needed to make sure the area does not disappear, NU.nl reports.
May 8 '17 11:44
Greenpeace, Milieudefensie, Oxfam Novib and BankTrack filed a joint complaint against ING over the bank's continued investment in fossil fuels. According to the organization, ING still invests billions of euros in fossil energy and is thereby violating OECD guidelines, BNR reports.
Apr 18 '17 07:45
Emissions of greenhouse gas methane is much higher in the Netherlands than existing figures would suggest, according to De Correspondent. Since 1990 methane emissions did not decrease by 43 percent, but only by 20 percent, the newspaper reports based on measurements in the field by journalist Han van de Wiel.
Methane gas is a much stronger and more dangerous greenhouse gas than CO2 and is especially released by cattle. Existing figures on this gas are based on estimates and unverifiable claims from the industry - not actual measurements, according to the newspaper.
Mar 29 '17 12:40
Departing State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and Environment is organizing a conference in the United States to try and influence the U.S. administration's climate policy, NRC reports. This follows U.S. president Donald Trump's decision to put an end to the climate policy of his predecessor Barack Obama, calling it a "waste of money". Dijksma fears that without cooperation from the U.S., it may be impossible to reach the goals set in the Paris Climate Agreement, according to the newspaper.
Mar 23 '17 15:40
The Port of Rotterdam is taking its first steps in going green. On Thursday Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port, is meeting with almost everyone involved in the port on the ss Rotterdam to present two ambitious options for the port's energy transition, NRC reports.
Feb 28 '17 11:15
To reach the targets set in the Paris Climate Agreement, the European Union must reduce its CO2 emissions faster, State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and Environment said in Brussels at a meeting of EU Environment Ministers on Tuesday. The EU's ambitions are too low and the Netherlands and other countries are so concerned that they are considering voting against the EU plans and teaming up to come to their own, separate and more ambitious agreements, the Volkskrant reports.
Sep 15 '16 15:00
The Netherlands environmental assessment agency PBL is calling on the government to make some drastic choices in order to reach the environmental targets set in the climate agreement in made in Paris last year
Apr 11 '16 10:57
The Dutch government is considering closing another two coal fired power plants in the Netherlands, on top of the already agreed upon closure of the five oldest coal plants in the country. The final decision on this will be made in the autumn
