It was somewhat concealed, but VVD member Silvio Erkens said it really last Tuesday In a debate in the Lower House. Both the “stuck policy and the geopolitical context in implementation require us into a number of price changes”. He meant: the VVD puts climate policy less on the agenda.
With this twist, the VVD moves in the direction of PVV and BBB, two other coalition parties that turn more openly against more measures to achieve the legally set climate goals in 2030. While in the autumn, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency warned that the Netherlands is lagging a lot on the agreement to emit at least 55 percent fewer greenhouse gases in 2030 than in 1990. BBB’er Henk Vermeer recently said in the Ad: “Only arithmetic exercises do not work, they help our country to hurt.” Geert Wilders posted on X to be ready “with the climate dram of the VVD”.
The difference: so far, the VVD was the party that has worked the most within this cabinet for climate policy, linked to the story of economic growth. She supplies the Minister of Climate and Green Growth, Sophie Hermans. In the few leeway she already has in this political constellation, she still emphasizes that the climate goals are ‘holy’ for her.
Those words will prove worth little – although Erkens also want to achieve the climate goals. The VVD, the parliamentarian said, must “look at energy independence in a more realistic way”, in order to breathe that more fossil gas extraction must be allowed in the Netherlands and Europe in the coming years. He explicitly referred to “accelerating gas extraction in the North Sea” – something he called “clean fossil extraction,” and then to take it back – for which his own minister Sophie Hermans (VVD) has to grant permits faster. Erkens also said that “it feels wry to talk about megatoons without accounting for the geopolitical context.”
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Hard fought climate policy is reversed worldwide, the United States first. President Trump said he was already discontinued from the Paris climate agreement, financing of climate research is discontinued and important scientific databases have been taken offline. Moreover, worrying: while in Europe there is an unprecedented unity about the importance of investing in safety and defense, an opposite trend is visible in the field of climate.
Also in Germany, climate was not a theme in the elections and in more places in Europe it is noticeable that politically a different wind has started to blow. The European Commission weakened a number of important sustainability laws that fall under the Green Deal, which means that companies are no longer obliged to carry out their climate plans. Fines for violating sustainability laws will be significantly reduced. The formal reason: the climate measures would be too burdensome for business.
That tempering has been visible in the Netherlands since the summer. The Cabinet Schoof deleted many sustainability requirements, such as for building new houses, and reduced subsidies, such as for installing a heat pump. Also, industrial companies no longer have to green more before 2030 in exchange for financial support.
For Minister Hermans, the challenges are not getting smaller. In the Spring Memorandum she wants to free up money for measures that no longer supports its own party. Instead, the emphasis is increasingly on keeping the energy bill affordable for Dutch citizens – a point where all four coalition parties can find each other. Who can be against that too?
The VVD mainly sells its change of course by sketching a contradiction between the geopolitical threats, which require energy independence and investments in the defense of Europe, and achieving climate goals. For example, the fossil industry is rewarded at the expense of companies that are struggling for a transition to a renewable energy -driven economy. Companies that must ensure future economic growth.
It is a false contradiction, because investing in climate is also investing in safety. Making Russian gas independent in the Netherlands and Europe, yes. But also in the future safety of residents of the Netherlands. Warming up the earth does not stop and the risk of extreme weather will only increase if the world does not act together. The Netherlands must also keep an eye for that.