Almost 60 organisations send a letter about fossil export support to Dutch Parliament
Today, a letter, undersigned by almost 60 organisations from countries that face the consequences of fossil fuel projects or stand in solidarity, has been sent to the Dutch Members of Parliament. This Thursday, a debate about the export credit facility and the policies around it, will take place in the Dutch Parliament. The coalition calls upon Dutch politicians and policy makers to stand up against any form of export support for fossil fuel projects that are to be executed by Dutch companies abroad, expecially in the global South.
Apart from the fact that new fossil projects hinder the energy transition, they do not bring these countries the economic prosperity that is always referred to by Western countries. On the contrary: they are often pushed into debts. Moreover, these types of projects cause human rights violations, environmental damage and climate change in the countries where they are carried out.
Loopholes in implementation
In October 2022, the Dutch government published a policy to implement the COP26 Glasgow-statement in which it promised to stop public finance for fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of 2022 . The proposed policy, unfortunately, has quite some 'loopholes' that make it possible for the Dutch government to keep supporting large fossil projects abroad for at least another year. These projects often run for years and will have a negative impact on the countries where they take place for decades to come.
With their joint letter, the organisations once again emphasise the negative impact of fossil fuel projects on their people and ecosystems, and urge the Dutch government to stop fossil export support now.
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