Work, work, work was Mark Rutte’s assertive voice at the Glasgow Climate Summit. But our outgoing prime minister did not put his words into practice: there was no Dutch signature of a decision to stop funding foreign fossil energy projects.
De Volkskrant writes that 21 of the 26 countries that have signed on to the resolution, including countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. “Ladies and gentlemen, you can count on the Kingdom of the Netherlands,” concluded Rota. But this is disappointing. GroenLinks is furious and demanding at the suggestion that Holland still join him.
Why don’t we? According to VVD, because the treasury isn’t allowed to make decisions about something too big, but that’s nonsense, GroenLinks grumbles. However, €6.8 billion has been made available to support sustainable energy.
Interests in oil and gas
Perhaps the real reason is that the Dutch business community has relatively large interests in the international oil and gas sector. This was stated by the outgoing Foreign Minister Hans Villbreev (D66) in July in the Chamber of Deputies. The Dutch government guarantees about 4.8 billion euros in fossil energy projects, such as the construction of gas and oil pipelines for Shell or Boscalis. And this is much more than Sweden, for example, which has already signed the treaty.
So Rutte’s call is unwarranted. But the leaders of the French and German governments are also speaking forcefully about tackling the climate crisis. Nor did they sign the resolution.
Bronn (nen): de Volkskrant
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