Today the results of the climate consultation have been shared with the Lower House.
What will the climate policy be in the coming years?
Over the past few months, the PWE-lab from the TU Delft together with the University of Utrecht has conducted a public consultation on climate measures. This in response to a request from the Lower House. The new government will have to take extra climate measures, if the Netherlands is to achieve the EU’s climate targets. Before deciding which climate measures will be taken, the government wanted to hear the advice from its society.
The citizen in the decision-maker’s seat
More than ten thousand people participated in the consultation. The participants were presented ten climate measures, together with an explanation of the effects and costs of these measurement for the government. Participants were bound to a governmental budget that they could spend on climate measures. This way, the dilemma and the choices that the government faces were simulated as best as possible.
Handing over the report
The input of all participants and the results of the consultation have been compiled into a hefty, multi-page report. Today this report was officially handed over to the Lower House and to Ed Nijpels, Chairman of the Climate Agreement Monitoring Committee. Niek also gave a technical briefing today to the Lower House, to explain the results and answer questions the House might have.
Niek: “I am pleased that the members of the Lower House were enthusiastic about our method and that they found the results useful.”
What does the population find important?
The report showed that three quarters of the population supports more ambitious climate measures, but only if three conditions are met:
- Low incomes must be protected
- Polluters must pay
- The benefits must be greater than the costs
Ed Nijpels responded by saying that he is pleased that a vast majority supports climate policy, but that it is up to the politicians to ensure that the conditions are met properly. If politicians can do that, the willingness among citizens will be high.
To be continued
The Lower House will delve deeper into the report in the coming period. The new cabinet will take the results of the consultation into account in the choices they will make regarding climate policy.
