The party has a hostile stance on attempts to cut carbon emissions but got more votes than any other in general election
The shocking success of Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV party in Dutch elections has left climate activists fearful of a drastic shift to fossil fuels and a rollback of climate policies if it manages to form a government.
Best known abroad for its rhetoric against Muslims, the PVV, which came first in Wednesday’s election but may struggle to find coalition partners, has taken a hard line on policies to stop the planet getting hotter.
The party wants to extract more oil and gas from the North Sea and stop building wind turbines and solar farms. It also wants to abolish the Dutch climate law and leave the Paris agreement on climate change.
“If these elections make one thing clear, it’s that politics will not save us,” said Yolande Schuur from the Dutch branch of activist group Extinction Rebellion.
The PVV, whose success with voters was praised by far-right leaders across Europe on Thursday, has said it is not going to waste billions on “pointless climate hobbies”.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Best known abroad for its rhetoric against Muslims, the PVV, which came first in Wednesday’s election but may struggle to find coalition partners, has taken a hard line on policies to stop the planet getting hotter.
“If these elections make one thing clear, it’s that politics will not save us,” said Yolande Schuur from the Dutch branch of activist group Extinction Rebellion.
Per person, the Netherlands pumped more planet-heating gas into the atmosphere in 2021 than all other EU member states bar Estonia, the Czech Republic, Ireland and Luxembourg.
Despite this, said De Coninck, who also serves as the vice-chair of the Netherlands Scientific Climate Council, the party’s most extreme views may be tempered even if it is part of a ruling coalition.
Kees van der Leun, managing director of energy consultancy Common Futures, agreed that most Dutch lawmakers favoured “staying the course”.
The country’s climate policies, he said, are guided by EU commitments, recent efforts to kick its dependence on Russian gas and growing interest from businesses.
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