The Netherlands needs to pay more attention to the long term when it comes to sustainability and ensure everyone is involved. This is what the Scientific Climate Council said in its first official advice to the Cabinet and the House of Representatives.
The council recommends that the government develop a vision of society for 2050 and beyond. President Jan Willem Erisman told NOS that this should be a safe and healthy society. For him, the requirements are clear: “A world worth living in, with a healthy biosphere. This means clean water, healthy air, healthy soil and a landscape worth living in.”
According to him, everyone should have an opinion on this issue. “How can you live, work and live there; a picture of where you want to go. This society must be supported by a sustainable economy and be fair in its relations with each other.”
Isolation and affordable public transport
Heleen de Coninck, vice president of the Climate Council, says justice starts with recognition. “For example, situations where burdens and benefits are not distributed fairly. “Consider low-income people who suffer from high energy prices but do not have enough money for solar energy systems and insulation measures and therefore cannot benefit from them.”
According to him, the obligation of landlords to modernize all rental properties is a step in the right direction. “Then you can help all the low-income people living in rental apartments in one fell swoop. But there are still low-income people living in apartments.”
He points to accessible and affordable public transportation as another example. “Public transport has really deteriorated in recent years. “And this is increasing: there are fewer users, it is becoming less profitable, and there is even a risk of losing more connections.” Not only is this bad for the environment, it also affects the lowest income earners.
Target point 2040
The report, presented Friday afternoon, includes 20 recommendations. Part of this is technical: Unsustainable investments need to be phased out, and experts also say a price tag should be put on all greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible.
Politically, most attention is now focused on 2030, when the Netherlands will have to emit 55 percent less greenhouse gases than in 1990. The Council also recommends formulating ambitious emissions targets for 2040. This offers a perspective for new policies and is compatible with the needs of the European Union. Much of the work that needs to be achieved by 2050 on the path to a climate neutral society should have been done by then.
sea level rising
Another important challenge will arise in the very long term: sea level rise, which can reach several meters and pose a fundamental threat to the lower reaches of the Netherlands. That’s why our vision for the future must not only be about the energy transition, but also about absorbing the increasing consequences of climate change in the best possible way, says council member and adaptation expert Marjolijn Haasnoot.
“Ultimately, this is about looking at big challenges in context. Sea level rise is an example where this connection is very important. “But this also applies to floods due to increased temperatures, drought and excessive rainfall.”
The power of the energy transition
The council includes environmental scientists, economists, public administration experts, lawyers, psychologists and energy experts such as Sanne Akerboom and Kornelis Blok. You can see that the Netherlands is a technological leader in rooftop solar and offshore wind energy.
The critical point is the necessary expansion of the power grid, which started too late. From a social perspective, they see small citizens’ energy cooperatives, of which the Netherlands is a leader, as a great force.
“We have 700 energy collectives like this in the Netherlands,” says Erisman. “The government needs to make these initiatives much easier. And a wider group of people should be able to participate.”
A shared vision also helps spur the behavioral changes needed for sustainability, scientists say. They also believe that participation is important. People need to be involved earlier and more fully in pending political decisions. “Make it clear in advance what your role is and make sure all groups in the community are represented,” says Mayor Erisman. “And make sure something is actually made of it.”
In October, a letter from twelve more scientists was published, describing Dutch climate policy as too hesitant. One of his recommendations is that ministries should ensure that their policies do not conflict with each other.
Source: NOS
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
