Last September, together with our Brazilian partner FASE, Marius Troost of Both ENDS visited Guanabara Bay (near Rio de Janeiro) to map the impacts of the fossil fuel sector there. During the trip, he was struck by the braveness and fearlessness of the local fisherfolk who protest the injustices faced by the people who live around Guanabara Bay and about the damage done to the environment.
New research by Both ENDS, Fossielvrij NL and urgewald shows that, in 2017, pension fund ABP invested 500 million euros more in coal, oil and gas than in the previous year – a total of 10.9 billion euros. These investments in fossil fuels not only stand in sharp contrast to ABP's claim that it has achieved substantial successes in its climate policy, but are also in flagrant violation of the Paris climate agreement. Unlike international forerunners among pension funds, ABP continues unabated to invest in the fossil energy sector.
Whenever I see pictures of the people in the Dutch province of Groningen whose houses are collapsing because of gas extraction and who, even if they wanted to move somewhere else, would never be able to sell them, I can't help but think of all the people worldwide who have been experiencing the same problems, sometimes for decades. Every time I see the anger and powerlessness of the people of Groningen, the comparison to the many people we have been working with for many years in many parts of the world comes to my mind.
A broad coalition of Dutch companies, knowledge institutes and civil society organizations wants to work together with the new government to make a real difference in improving global food security. The main focus will lie on supporting farmers and consumers in the Netherlands and beyond, and promoting climate-proof food systems in low- and middle-income countries. The coalition believes that, with our knowledge, expertise, experience and reputation for international cooperation and trade, the Netherlands must adopt an ambitious strategy for making our food systems more sustainable, and so contribute to achieving the targets in the Paris Climate Accord and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Plans to open a second nuclear power plant in Bulgaria have been cancelled. On March 28, Minister for finance Vladislav Goranov announced that instead of a nuclear plant, a gas plant will be built in the small town of Belene. This is good news: In the past years, Both ENDS and other civil society organisations have strongly resisted the possible construction of the power plant.
Today, a week before the international climate summit in Egypt, the Dutch Government has broken a major climate promise it made last year to end public financing for international fossil fuel projects. International and Dutch NGOs argue that the new policy published by the Dutch Government on restricting finance for fossil fuels has such significant loopholes, that it essentially means The Netherlands has reneged on its promise.
Our new report titled EU ECA fossil fuel phase-out tracker by Both ENDS, Counter Balance and Oil Change International sheds light on the concerning lack of harmony between EU Member States' export credit climate policies.
The report was updated on April 17th, following new responses by Member States on their respective policies.