The current calender year will definitely be in the top three hottest years ever measured in the Netherlands. 2018 will likely come in second place with a average temperature of 11.4 degrees, though that will depend on what the weather looks like this last week of the year, Weerplaza reports.
The hottest year ever measured in the Netherlands is 2014 with an average temperature of 11.7 degrees. 2006 is currently in second place with 11.2 degrees.
An agreement was signed at the United Nations climate summit in Katowice, Poland on Saturday. The Dutch delegation and government are satisfied with the result, NU.nl reports.
While the majority of Dutch are concerned about global warming, 40 percent of voters don't want to contribute any money to measures to decrease CO2 emissions, according to a poll by Maurice de Hond. On the other hand, 24 percent said they are willing to spend more than 50 euros per month on climate measures.
Dutch people often misjudge important facts about the Netherlands. The Dutch population's perception about immigration, unemployment and climate change figures, among others, is far wrong, according to the study Perils of Perception by Ipsos. The research agency interviewed citizens from 37 countries. In none of the countries did the citizens estimate figures correctly, RTL Nieuws reports.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte called on the government leaders in Europe to be more ambitious in reducing their countries' CO2 emissions, wile speaking at the climate summit in Poland. In the Rutte III coalition agreement the Dutch government agreed to lower emissions by 49 percent by 2030. The government wants to increase that to 55 percent and Rutte called on other European countries to set the same goal, NOS reports.
World leaders and scientists from almost al countries in the world are gathering in Katowice, Poland for an international climate summit. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Ministers Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs and Climate, Sigrid Kaag of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure and Water Management, and State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven of Infrastructure will represent the Netherlands, the Telegraaf reports.
Climate change and particulate matter are the biggest health risks this century, according to a report by 27 global organizations, doctors, academics and policy experts published in medical journal Lancet.
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.
The Dutch State must do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the court in The Hague ruled after dismissing each of the state attorney's arguments one after the other. The Hague court therefore maintains a previous ruling three years ago that was a groundbreaking victory for environmental organization Urgenda.
Despite economic setbacks that threaten from the Brexit and United States president Donald Trump's trade wars, this is a logical time to give "something back" to the Dutch, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said about the budget and the government's plans for next year, NU.nl reports.
Activists blocked access to NAM's Tankenpark in Farmsum, Groningen on Tuesday morning in a protest against gas extraction in the province. According to action group Code Rood, more than 700 people gathered at the gates. The group wants to block the entrance for several days, ANP reports.
If the Netherlands' average temperature rises by 3 degrees due to global warming, the country will be too hot for nearly 500 plant species, according to research Wageningen University published on Thursday. That is around 40 percent of all plant species in the country, ANP reports.
Plants that will disappear with 3 degree temperature increase include the wild strawberry, the Gentiana cruciata, the Linnaea borealis and the Cornus suecica, according to the researchers.
Every year the Netherlands incurs 31 billion euros worth of damage to the environment through the emission of harmful substances, according a study by the Netherlands' environmental assessment agency PBL. That amounts to 4.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product, NU.nl reports.
The negotiations for a new climate law for the Netherlands are almost done. The negotiators for the seven parties involved in drafting this bill have agreed on the text for the law and will present it to their factions on on Tuesday. The negotiators agreed that the law must stipulate that CO2 emissions in the country must be reduced by 49 percent in 2030 when compared to 1990, and by 95 percent in 2050, NOS reports.
From Monday it is forbidden to extract water from streams and rivers in Noord- and Midden-Limburg to irrigate fields and pastures. The Limburg water board made this decision because of drought in the area, NOS reports.
Zuid-Limburg got a lot of rain and flooding over the past weeks, and the ban does not apply there. But in the north and middle of the province the water level dropped considerably due to a period of heat and drought, according to the water board.
Nearly all shareholders of Shell voted against a resolution by action group Follow This on Tuesday. The resolution called on Shell to impose stricter environmental targets. Almost 95 percent of the cast votes were against the resolution, ANP reports.
Shell "should have been more assertive" in its warnings about climate change, Ben van Beurden, CEO of the Dutch oil and gas giant said in a podcast by Studio Energie. Environmental group Milieudefensie recently filed a lawsuit against Shell for the role it played in the climate problems the world currently faces.
Environmental organization Milieudefensie is filing a lawsuit against Shell in an effort to force the Dutch oil and gas company to adjust its policy to prevent further damage to the climate, Milieudefensie announced in a press conference at Shell's former headquarters in Amsterdam, ANP reports.
The Dutch government gave Diederik Samsom the job of making sure that a quarter of Dutch homes are off the natural gas network by 2030, the former PvdA leader said in an interview with newspaper Trouw on Friday. That equates to around 2 million Dutch homes.
Samsom will work as an advisor and commissioner at state energy company EBN, and also as negotiator for the Dutch Climate Agreement. VVD Minister Erik Wiebes of Economic Affairs and Climate asked Samsom to be the negotiator last month, he said.
Dutch municipalities can do much more to reduce the emission of green house gases in the Netherlands, according to a study by GroenLinks' scientific office. Party leader Jesse Klaver is therefore focusing on the 'green campaign' in the run up to the municipal elections, because he believes municipalities can make a big difference in the fight against climate change, NOS reports.
The municipalities have influence on more than a third of the country's total emissions, and not all municipalities are doing everything they can to reduce emissions, GroenLinks concludes.
Today is Warm Sweater Day in the Netherlands, a day on which environmental organization Klimaatverbond calls on people to turn down the heating and instead wear a warm sweater to stay warm. With this campaign, the organization wants to draw attention to energy saving as a contribution to fighting climate change.
Small actions done by many people can have a major effect, a spokesperson for Klimaatverbond said to RTL Nieuws. "Because if everyone puts the heating one degree lower for one day, that saves the energy of the annual use of three Wadden Islands."
The Dutch government wants to start building new houses without a connection to the gas network starting this year.
The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, already agreed that new homes should not be connected to the gas network. But the government thinks that this can be started sooner than the four years planned. On Thursday the coalition wants to arrange that average new homes are built without this connection, RTL Nieuws reports.
Periodic rain showers could dampen New Year's celebrations on Sunday night and Monday morning, according to several weather forecasts for the Netherlands. Southern border provinces can expect high temperatures of 13 degrees, while the rest of the country could peak at 12 degrees, the Dutch national weather service KNMI stated. This could break the New Year's Day warm weather record of 12.3 degrees set in 2006.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte is participating in the One Planet Summit in Paris on Tuesday. This informal climate summit marks the two year anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement.
This informal summit was arranged by French president Emmanuel Macron. Its aim is to look at how far countries have come to meeting their climate goals set in the agreement, and to motivate them to achieve these goals.
