A spokesperson for the State Department said this.
Announcement has been signed
It concerns the UK’s plan to stop, among other things, securing export credit and loans for oil and gas drilling stations next year. The declaration has already been signed by large investors such as the United States and Canada. European countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Italy also agreed, and the Dutch Finance Corporation for Developing Countries (FMO) decided to sign the statement on its own initiative.
Millions of insured
Through the so-called export credit insurance, the Dutch government helps companies that are involved in fossil projects abroad. These government insurance policies exist because large projects in other countries often cannot be secured through commercial companies. Then the government intervenes.
The sums insured can reach hundreds of millions of euros per project. For example, the Netherlands is helping offshore service provider Van Oord, which is involved in a large natural gas project in Mozambique, by insuring the company for €900 million. This is done through the Atradius DSB organization, which is managed by the Ministry of Finance.
Ending financial support for fossil fuel projects abroad should help limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees, as agreed in the Paris climate agreement.
Turn of the caretaker locker
The Netherlands did not initially join the group of countries saying it would stop such support by the end of 2022. It was seen as an ambition for the new government, which led to outgoing ministers from, among others, criticizing melodiffiency, but also from political parties. left-wing.
It is not clear why the Netherlands is now transforming. A letter will be sent to the House of Representatives on Monday with an explanation. First, the outgoing government said it would leave the choice to the new government.
Critics of the former Dutch position are happy. “This position was of course completely untenable, but still: this is good news,” says PvdA member Joris Thijssen. He praises the responsible state minister, Dylan Yeşilkoz: “Well done,” says the Social Democrat.
political reactions
According to Raul Bock (D 66), the Cabinet’s decision is “the only good option for our clean future and for our economy.” The MP wrote on Twitter: “We want, we must lead the way. And invest in the future instead of the fossil fuel and fuel technologies of the last century.”
Esther Oehand, the leader of the Animals Party, attributes this development to the climate demonstration held in Amsterdam on Saturday. “Hoba! A huge success for the climate march,” she says. “Cabinet surrenders under pressure from tens of thousands of protesters. The Netherlands demands climate action, now!” Tom van der Lee, Member of Parliament for GroenLinks, also called the decision “evidence that climate action together helps”.
