The Netherlands Contemplates The World’s Toughest Climate Law

Vox - David Roberts

A new Dutch proposal would put climate at the center of national politics.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands. Jack Taylor/Getty Images

 A coalition of seven Dutch political parties recently unveiled a climate policy proposal that is breathtaking in its ambition. If it becomes law, it will codify the most stringent targets for greenhouse gas reductions of any country in the world.
There are still several steps between the proposal and passage, including debate in both houses of Parliament, and lawmakers may make changes. But given the broad political support — the parties involved control 113 of 150 seats in Parliament — it is widely expected to pass in something like its current form by late next summer.
It would be the world’s eighth national climate law (after the UK, Mexico, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, and Sweden), but it boasts a few features that make it particularly notable.

It’s bipartisan! Or rather, heptapartisan.
Here in the US, we’ve grown depressingly accustomed to climate battles breaking down along partisan lines: Democrats push (inadequate) solutions; Republicans deny that the problem exists or that anything needs to be done about it.
In contrast, the Dutch proposal is supported by a coalition of parties ranging from the far left to the center-right, together representing a large majority of seats in the Dutch Parliament. (One notable absence: the right-wing populist party, Party for Freedom, led by notorious Islamophobe Geert Wilders.) The current prime minister, Mark Rutte, leads the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), which is one of the bill’s primary supporters.

Dutch Parliament. Carl Court/Getty Images

 The proposal represents a degree of social and political consensus that is almost unthinkable in the US — not only that climate change is “real” (an absurd debate only the US is having), but that it’s urgent and that national policy should support the goals agreed to in Paris. Those goals obligate developed countries like the Netherlands to virtually eliminate carbon emissions by mid-century.
It would be like John McCain throwing his weight behind Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s climate policies.

It’s ambitious AF!
If passed as proposed, the Dutch law would be the world’s most stringent, putting into statute the following targets:

• 49 percent reduction in greenhouse gases (relative to 1990 levels) by 2030
• 95 percent reduction by 2050
• 100 percent carbon-neutral electricity by 2050

The targets are based on a report last year from the country’s environmental agency, which revealed that the Netherlands (like every other country on Earth) would not accomplish its portion of the Paris targets with current policy. Paris targets imply that all developed countries need to be at or near carbon-neutral by 2050.
Hitting these goals will involve a wide range of investments in everything from district heating to carbon sequestration. The new government has also committed to phasing out coal by 2030, which will mean shutting down three coal plants that only finished construction recently.

It ensures climate will get ongoing attention
Under the bill, every year, the Dutch Parliament and the Cabinet will discuss and debate the year’s progress toward decarbonization goals. With independent advice from the Council of State, they will adjust programs as necessary to stay on track, in something analogous to a yearly budgeting process.
Then, on the fourth Thursday of October — “Climate Day” — the government will issue a public memorandum reviewing progress toward climate goals and laying out plans for the year ahead.
If nothing else, yearly reviews will keep climate in the forefront of Dutch politics, and in the public eye.

Queen Maxima (yes, that’s her name) of the Netherlands contemplates a wind turbine at an exhibition in Hamburg, Germany. Christian Augustin/Getty Images

 Every five years, the climate law will be revised and updated, to ensure the country stays in alignment with Paris targets.

It’s a miniature Paris agreement
The climate law does not specify any policies — only targets and timelines — and it says nothing about legal enforcement mechanisms to guarantee that targets are met. It implicitly relies on the power of transparency to do the work of forcing future governments to implement actual policies.
The assumption is that governments will be embarrassed and suffer politically if they report inadequate progress year after year. The Paris agreement relies on a similar dynamic: the power of reputational risk to do the work of accountability.
That aspect of the proposal has drawn some criticism. Dennis van Berkel of the Dutch NGO Urgenda, which sued the Dutch government in 2013 for failing to address climate change, told Green News that the law is a “paper tiger.” A legally binding target for 2030 was removed from the initial draft, he said, along with short-term carbon budgets.
“What remains is unfortunately a largely symbolic act which only ensures that a yearly climate debate is organised which reports on the route towards the 2050 target,” he said, “but which gives very little assurance that real action is taken.”
I get why Dutch climate campaigners want to keep the pressure on (that’s their job), but this seems a bit uncharitable. Since only the 2050 target is legally binding, it would be possible for Dutch politicians to fritter and fail for the next 30 years, to do nothing but have annual meetings to no effect, but to believe that will happen is to completely dismiss the power of transparency and democratic accountability. Politicians don’t want to be seen as failing!
The bill will ensure that climate change is put in the spotlight every year. And it contains an unambiguous long-term target, with required adjustments every five years. If Dutch politicians do fail on climate goals going forward, they won’t be able to hide or downplay it. The failure will be extremely public. That matters.

Netherland’s Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Jack Taylor/Getty ImagesThe Dutch are now pushing Europe forward

Along with the newly aggressive domestic policy has come a newly aggressive posture toward European Union climate policy. Rutte recently called upon the EU to revise its collective carbon target up to 55 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. (Germany’s outgoing environment minister dismissed the call as “unrealistic.”)
Alongside the UK, which also recently signaled that it might aim for a zero-carbon goal, the Netherlands is going from laggard to leader on climate at a dizzying pace.
I wasn’t sure I’d live to see it, but it looks like a substantial bloc of nations is forming that is taking climate change science seriously and making policy around it. The more nations that put carbon neutrality on record as the appropriate mid-century goal, the more difficult it will become for other industrialized nations to justify planning otherwise.
Meanwhile, as countries across the world plot a course toward a sustainable future, US policy falls farther and farther behind. America, increasingly alone among nations, still clings, eyes shut tight, to the dirty past.

Links

• The Netherlands presents ambitious Climate Law
• The Implications Of The Paris Climate Agreement For The Dutch Climate Policy Objectives (pdf)
• Dutch coalition accord: the Netherlands goes for climate leadership in Europe
• Dutch Government’s new climate law met with mixed reaction
• The Climate Litigation Threat Is Getting Credible
• Four Climate Change Lawsuits To Watch In 2018
• From Australia To El Salvador To Vietnam, The Environment Is Finally Getting Its Day In Court
• More Than 20 Nations Seek Lead In Setting Tougher Climate Goals

Forget Trump: Europe Plans To Push For More Ambition On Climate

Bloomberg - Ewa Krukowska

• European long-term climate roadmap to be unveiled in November
• Current emissions-cut trajectory not enough to meet Paris goal

Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg

Trump or no Trump, the European Union is set to spur businesses to do more to meet the Paris climate accord goals.
Taking a long view and encouraging companies to front-load actions to cap future costs will be among the thrusts of the climate push for the bloc’s executive suites. In its longer-term strategy to be presented in November to achieve targets set under the Paris accord, the European Commission is considering options ranging from lowering greenhouse-gas discharges by 80 percent by 2050 compared with 1990 levels to net-zero emissions by mid-century.

“Having a 2050 perspective helps people accept more ambitious paths,” Mauro Petriccione, the director general for climate at the EU’s regulatory arm, said in an interview in Brussels. “That also means that people should start thinking now that at some point they will have to go beyond the 2030 target. You give them a signal now, you help them plan for the long-term.”

The steps are aimed at showing how determined the 28-nation bloc is to honor the accord’s targets even in the face of President Donald Trump’s decision to take the U.S. out of the 2015 agreement signed by almost all other countries in the world.

The EU currently has a binding target of cutting emissions by at least 40 percent by the end of the next decade. That’s not enough to meet the Paris objective of keeping global temperature growth well below 2 degrees Celsius, a move scientists say is needed to prevent catastrophic effects of global warming.

Not Enough
The EU has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by about 23 percent since 1990

Source: European Environment Agency

While the new European strategy won’t propose changing the bloc’s 2030 goal, it will set milestones for the following decades that could be turned into binding targets later on.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the EU will host a high-level conference in Brussels to consult companies, non-governmental organizations and researchers on the upcoming road map.

More Needed
“It is now time to look at the longer-term perspective and to set out a strategy for where EU climate policy is heading by 2050,” Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said in a statement on Thursday. “The clean energy transition will be key, and achieving our climate objectives will require contributions from every part of the economy and society.”
For the EU, which wants to lead by example, the long-term strategy will also be a political tool to demand more at the next United Nations talks that start in December in Katowice, Poland. Envoys from more than 190 countries will aim to iron out a rule-book to implement the Paris deal and its mechanisms to step up carbon reductions worldwide.
“We have a reasonable chance of persuading the other large emitters in the developed and emerging world to follow us,” Petriccione said. “The only way to persuade them is to be successful. The only example people want to follow is success.”

Climate Streaks
Carbon-dioxide emissions over the past decade 

Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2018

Europe cut its greenhouse-gas discharges by 23 percent by 2016 compared with 1990 levels, and is on track to beat its 2020 target of lowering them by a fifth. The price on carbon in its flagship cap-and-trade program, which puts emissions limits on almost 12,000 facilities owned by manufacturers and power producers, more than doubled over the past two years to around 16 euros ($18.7) per metric ton after an overhaul that alleviated a glut of permits.

No ‘Monsters’
As part of a push for more ambition at the UN climate talks in December, the EU may toughen its contribution to the Paris Agreement and submit a stricter goal of “slightly over 45 percent” by 2030. Deeper reductions will be possible after policy makers agreed to pursue stricter energy efficiency and renewables goals for 2030, Canete said last month.
To ensure its fight against climate change and shift to sustainable economy are effective, Europe must embrace a new approach to energy, going beyond incorporating renewables into the grid, according to Petriccione. As part of the transformation, the EU should also embrace new clean sources of energy, such as hydrogen, he said.
“It’s perfectly conceivable to diversify our sources of energy not only to replace fossil fuels but also according to what you actually want to do with the energy,” he said. “A power plant that feeds the electric grid of a large city is a monster. A power plant that feeds a steel plant is a monster. You don’t need to get energy from a monster to feed your house. This gives you a lot more options.”

Links

• EU Can Toughen Its Emissions-Cut Target Under Paris Climate Deal
• Former Coal Lobbyist Takes Over EPA From Embattled Chief Pruitt
• China, Europe fill the gap as US cedes global climate leadership
• UN Environment and European Union call for stronger action against climate-change-related security threat
• More than 20 nations seek lead in setting tougher climate goals

'Huge Step': Tourist Industry Wakes Up To Reef's Climate Risks

Fairfax - Peter Hannam

Tourist operators on the Great Barrier Reef are shifting their stance on climate change, with the peak industry body opposing Adani's "mega coal mine", and acknowledging fossil fuel use has to be phased out.
In an unprecedented declaration, a year in the making, the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators (AMPTO) and Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) called on "all our political leaders...to fight for the future of our reef".

Great Barrier Reef tour operators are shifting their stance on climate change, and the threat it poses for corals in Australia and around the world. Photo: Dean Miller, Great Barrier Reef Legacy

"The carbon pollution from coal, oil and gas is heating the air and the oceans to dangerous levels," the statement said, noting the record marine heatwaves in 2016 and 2017 had damaged coral reefs worldwide. "It’s not too late to save our Reef but time is critical."
"On climate change, I'm sold," Col McKenzie, AMPTO's long-serving chief executive, told Fairfax Media. "It's a man-made issue."
The declaration has already drawn dozens of signatories among tourist businesses and adds to local calls for climate action from local government such as Douglas Shire council.
Imogen Zethoven, the society's reef campaign director, said the tourism industry had been "in a state of shock" after the first bout of mass coral bleaching in 2016, and had resisted discussing climate change.
But a second bout in 2017 brought a recognition that a warming planet "is an existential threat to the reef and the tourism industry", Ms Zethoven said.

'Overdue'
Tony Fontes, a dive operator based in the Whitsundays since the 1980s, called AMPTO's shift "a huge step".
"It's overdue but it is happening," Mr Fontes said. "Basically we need a mass campaign" to protect the reef.
How far the tourist industry push dovetails with the anti-Adani campaign remains to be seen.
Bob Manning, Cairns Regional Council mayor, doubts opposition to the Indian miner's proposed giant Carmichael mine in the Galilee Basin "gets us anywhere".
Still, "Adani has done us no favour overseas", Mr Manning said. "It’s hard for us to say we are responsibly managing the reef...but at the same time we’re letting those coal ships through."
A spokeswoman for Adani said the company remains "100 per cent committed to the Carmichael project and are confident of securing finance".
"Strict safety and environmental standards already governing shipping along the Queensland coast will ensure there is no impact to the Great Barrier Reef,” she said.

'Global issue'
Ian Macfarlane, chief executive of the Queensland Resources Council, said coal from the basin "is high energy, lower emission coal when compared with lower quality, higher emission coals sourced from Indonesia and India".
"The addressing of climate change is a global issue and requires all countries to be involved in lowering emissions," he said.
Mark Read, acting director of field management at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, said the tourism industry's new stance comes even as visitor numbers rebound to record levels.
“These are the people who spend their lives taking people out, [who have] lived and breathed and tried to make a living through these tough times," Dr Read said.
Still, the authority is not in a position to discuss curbs on Australian coal, such as the Adani mine.
Climate change “is the thing that the global community most desperately needs to tackle if we’re going to...give the reef a real possible chance for a long-term future,” Dr Read said.

Links

• Reef Climate Declaration - FNQ Businesses
• 'Environment is our economy': Tourism wakes up to a reef in peril
• All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week
• Study of reefs reveals benefits of keeping global warming in check
• Australian teens more worried about climate change than adults

Climate Change Needs Behaviour Change

Yale University - Elise Gilchrist

Photo Credit: AG Sano

Today, nearly two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions are linked either directly or indirectly to human consumption.
What we buy, what we eat, how we travel, and how we dispose of our waste all contribute to climate change.
But this isn’t another sad story about a planet in peril.
In this story, humans are not only the cause, but also the solution.
With broad public support for climate action, the time is right to to elevate and celebrate creative solutions. In the United States alone, a majority of adults believe humans can reduce global warming[1], and 67% think that citizens themselves should be doing more to address the problem[2].
But too often, the traditional response to major environmental problems relies on rigid legislation, incremental policy changes, data-driven reports, and fines for rule breakers. But humans don’t always behave logically or rationally.
We’re social and emotional animals. And if climate change is driven by human behavior, then shouldn’t we turn to behavioral science to tackle the problem? In the end, addressing climate change requires an understanding of behavior change.
That is why several leading conservation organizations have teamed up to launch a global search for proven approaches to changing consumer behavior and curbing their carbon footprint.
Solution Search is a crowdsourcing competition sponsored by Rare, Conservation International, National Geographic, The Nature Conservancy, The United Nations Development Programme, and World Wildlife Fund.
The competition seeks to identify, spotlight, and reward nonprofits, governments, companies, or other organizations that are changing consumer habits using behavioral science principles. These include appealing to people’s emotions, creating new social norms, and making climate-friendly behaviors easier to adopt.
Solution Search: Climate Change Needs Behavior Change is the fifth Solution Search competition.  This year’s competition—the first to bring together the six organizations listed above—seeks to highlight the approach, not just the result.
Judges aren’t just after the new veggie burger that tastes like real meat, but rather, what is the way to motivate self-proclaimed carnivores to start eating them? Designing a bike share program in a new city is just one step in inspiring a movement of eco-friendly commuters.
How can behavioral science inform the adoption strategy? The methods and messages that drive an individual, group, or community to change their behavior have widespread implications for tackling an issue like climate change.
One of the best things about Solution Search is that even after the competition is over and the awards are won, the impact continues.
Solution Search finalists will attend a workshop in Washington D.C., led by the United Kingdom’s Behavioural Insights Team, their “nudge unit” of behavioral experts who work to apply what research tells us about human behavior and decision-making to improve policies and public services.
Solution Search also provides the opportunity for participants to continue to collaborate as part of a growing network of “solutionaries” from around the globe.
The most urgent environmental issues of today will be solved by people and the decisions they make. Solution Search is one part of this process.
If you have a project that is making a difference, apply by August 7, 2018, for the chance to win $25,000, gain international exposure, and expand your partner and donor networks. You can apply or nominate a group or individual doing great work here.

[1] Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., Rosenthal, S., Cutler, M., & Kotcher, J. (2017) Climate change in the American mind: March 2018. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
[2] Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., Rosenthal, S., Cutler, M., & Kotcher, J. (2017) Politics & Global Warming, March 2018. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

Links

• The Power of Solutions
• Solution Search: Long After You Play, Conservation Wins
• Farming for Biodiversity
• A Global Search For Local Seafood Solutions
• Peru's alpine herders revive ancient technologies to face the future