Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion activists are welcome to protest against aviation with regard to the new director of Schiphol. Tomorrow there will be a major protest at Schiphol Plaza, which is expected to attract hundreds of climate activists and local residents. The newly appointed director, Ruud Sondag, calls on the activists ‘to keep things tidy’.
Sondag responds with his appeal to an open letter from Greenpeace that was published in a number of newspapers today. The environmental organization congratulates the CEO on his new job as successor to Dick Benschop, but above all wants to know ‘what kind of director he will be’.
Greenpeace challenges Sondag to opt for a ‘cleaner Netherlands’ and not to return to the ‘old normal’ of fossil fuels, pollution, nuisance and noise. The environmental organization is urging a significant reduction in the number of flights.
Justly
Sondag thinks Greenpeace’s call for a cleaner Netherlands and that they address him about it is ‘justified’. “I have been committed to a sustainable Netherlands for more than 25 years and that is of course not going to change,” says Sondag. “I like it and Schiphol likes it.”
Topman Sondag emphasizes in his reply to the letter from Greenpeace that thanks to Schiphol, the Netherlands is connected to the rest of the world, and that this contributes to the well-being of the Dutch.
“That is a great good, but that has to change: better for our employees, better for the environment and with fewer emissions, less nuisance,” says Sondag. Schiphol must be climate neutral by 2030. Twenty years later, airplanes are no longer allowed to emit anything.
keep it tidy
Sondag wants to talk to ‘everyone’ about a sustainable future for aviation. “With Greenpeace, with employees, with unions, in other words with everyone,” says Sondag. “And for Saturday, be welcome, but keep it tidy.”
cringing
The director’s appeal does not go down well with Greenpeace. “Sunday asks us to keep it ‘tidy’. It is appalling that this question comes from one of the largest polluters in the Netherlands,” says Dewi Zloch of Greenpeace.
“The right to protest is of great importance. We always campaign peacefully and safely. It is now up to Sondag to come up with a plan that is ‘tidy’ for local residents, climate and our future.”