News item | 29-05-2026 | 13:30
The cabinet is adopting 41 of the proposals from the National Citizens’ Council on Climate and converting them into policy. The 175 drawn participants of the citizens’ council sought an answer to the question of how we as the Netherlands can eat, use things and travel in a way that is better for the climate, and have proposed 82 concrete measures.
Minister Van Veldhoven (Climate and Green Growth): “What we eat, what we buy, how we travel – it all has an impact on the climate, and that affects us all. The recommendations of the citizens’ council show what the Dutch themselves think about this. And what is special: people with very different ideas about the climate have achieved something beautiful together. By listening carefully to each other and seeing what they agree on. The result is a set of recommendations for which there is broad support. The cabinet is very grateful to the participants. for what they did for this.”
Minister Heerma (Interior and Kingdom Relations): ”With this citizens’ council, people are really involved in a complicated issue. The outcome shows that people with different views can work towards something together, if there is room for an open conversation. That is extremely valuable. I am convinced that we can and should use this approach more often.”
Some examples of the proposals what the government is working on: we are going to make electric driving more accessible. For example, we are offering a trade-in scheme to exchange your old petrol or diesel car for a second-hand electric car as announced on April 20. We are going to ensure that items can last longer. We will make repairs easier and more accessible and investigate how we can reduce the costs of repairs. To further combat food waste, we are working on clear expiration icons on food and we are exploring how food storage rules can be adjusted in Europe. With the development of a lobby register, the government is taking an extra step in fair weighing of interests.
There are also a number of proposals from the citizens’ council on which a decision must be made later. For example, because a decision has yet to be made about the finances or because implementation is dependent on another (international) decision. The government will start working on these proposals and look for options.
There are also proposals that the cabinet will not adopt. For example, because there are practical objections or international agreements that we must adhere to. An example: the citizens’ council proposes a levy on imported recyclate from outside Europe. Introducing a similar tax would be contrary to World Trade Organization rules and therefore cannot be applied.