Incomprehension and indignation among the climate movement: The Netherlands is full of plans to stop financial support for fossil projects elsewhere in the world, but when it comes down to it, the cabinet does not give up. That is how, at least, various activist groups, including Milieudefensie, view the Netherlands’ refusal to participate in the climate summit in Glasgow to sign a statement in which more than twenty countries express the intention to end public support for fossil energy projects by the end of next year.
Among those countries are the US and Canada and some EU Member States, including Italy, Denmark and Portugal. Milieudefensie calls the reticence of the Netherlands “bizarre” and the call for action against climate change by outgoing Prime Minister Rutte, in Glasgow, “an empty shell” now that the Netherlands “does not immediately stop with fossil export support”.
According to the cabinet, the reason the Netherlands has not signed is simple: it is caretaker and signing would imply a policy change that only the next cabinet would be allowed to decide on. Part of the House of Representatives is not satisfied with this explanation. Member of Parliament Tom van der Lee (GroenLinks) emphasized that 25 parties now support the declaration of intent. The Dutch Finance Company for Developing Countries, in which the State has a 51 percent interest, is also one of the signatories.
Motion
Van der Lee submitted a motion calling on the cabinet to sign the statement after all. The motion will be voted on on Tuesday and at the request of the MP, the cabinet will provide a written explanation of the position prior to that vote. “I would like to discuss this with my colleague from Finance,” said State Secretary Dilan Yesilgöz (Climate and Energy, VVD), but she advised the House not to support the motion.
The Dutch reticence can also be explained by the major interests at stake for Dutch companies. Export credit insurer Atradius, as a private company on behalf of the Dutch state, annually guarantees projects in which companies such as Shell and also Van Oord, Boskalis and Heerema are usually intensively involved, projects that are difficult to insure with private insurers. “The Netherlands was traditionally very coarse in fossils,” says researcher Louise van Schaik of the Netherlands Institute for International Relations Clingendael. Dutch banks also have a lot of interests in this, says Van Schaik.
Earlier this year, the Netherlands said it took ‘the lead’ to stimulate export financing for climate-friendly and sustainable projects and to limit it for fossil sectors. To this end, the Netherlands is organizing a summit of countries at the end of this month who call themselves the Export Finance for Future (E3F). There is also an ‘exploration’ by State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief (Finance, D66) in which a phased end to investments in fossil energy is proposed. According to the exploratory study, what ambitions the Netherlands has in this respect is ‘to be determined by the next government’.
While some within the climate movement call the Glasgow statement “groundbreaking,” there is debate about its scope. The statement does not make it clear whether support for fossil projects might still be possible, for example if CO2 can be accommodated. „You can see that as loophole”, says researcher Van Schaik van Clingendael.
Dutch climate aid page 6-7
A version of this article also appeared in NRC in the morning of November 5, 2021
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