The fossil elephant in the room
This report shows that the Dutch Export Credit Agency ADSB insured fossil fuel-related projects with a total insured value of € 10.8 billion in the period 2012-2018. This is more than 60% of its total insured value for that period and € 1.5 billion a year
on average. The policy incoherence thus created by the Dutch government nullifies the Dutch contributions to international climate ambitions.
The Dutch government indicates that it will end all financial support to coal projects and exploration and development of new oil and gas fields abroad from its foreign trade and development cooperation instruments as of 2020.
Unfortunately, this commitment is not applied to the export credit facility, which supports the by far largest volume of fossil fuel related business transactions abroad. By not applying the same principles to its public export credit support, the Dutch government undermines its own foreign climate ambitions.
This report calls upon the Dutch government to align the policies of its Export Credit Agency with the Paris climate goals. Furhtermore, it provides suggestions for possible ways to go about it.
More information:
The annex of the report in which the research methods are explained.
Read the full publication
The fossil elephant in the room
Read more about this subject
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Dossier /Paris Proof Export Support
Almost two-thirds of the export credit insurances that Atradius DSB provided in the 2012-2018 period went to the fossil energy sector. That is contrary to the climate agreements that the Netherlands signed in Paris.
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Dossier /The JWH Initiative: supporting young environmental leaders
The JWH Initiative aims to stimulate leadership of young people in environmental organisations by giving small grants to individuals to expand their knowledge, experience and training.
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Dossier /International trade and investment with respect for people and planet
The network of international trade and investment treaties is large and complex. The Netherlands alone has signed more than 70 bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and is party to the trade and investment agreements concluded by the EU, like the EU-Mercosur and EU-Indonesia trade deals.
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News / 15 October 2026ISDS infringement complaint filed with the European Commission
The Netherlands and Portugal join four other EU countries facing such a complaint.
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Press release / 15 October 2026Dutch and Portuguese organisations file EU complaint over investment treaties that let companies and sanctioned Russian oligarchs sue EU countries for compensation
The Netherlands and Portugal join four other EU countries facing such a complaint, as the Global Days of Action against Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) begin.
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News / 29 September 2026Summary - Both ENDS complaint under the EU-New Zealand trade agreement
On 29 September 2026, Both ENDS lodged the first complaint on climate grounds with the European Commission's Single Entry Point. It asks the Commission to examine whether Aotearoa New Zealand has broken two promises both sides made in the EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement: not to weaken or set aside environmental laws in order to encourage trade or investment, and to effectively implement the Paris Agreement.
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Publication / 29 September 2026
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Publication / 29 September 2026
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News / 29 September 2026Q&A: New Zealand's climate rollback and the EU trade agreement
On 29 September 2026 / 30 September in Aotearoa New Zealand, Both ENDS lodged a complaint with the European Commission under the EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. These are the questions we are asked most often, and our answers. The complaint summary, the case explainer and the key public sources are linked at the end of this page.
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News / 29 September 2026What happens now? A timeline of the SEP Case
What happens now? On 29 September 2026 / 30 September in Aotearoa New Zealand, Both ENDS lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission. It is the first complaint to the EU's Single Entry Point on environmental and climate grounds. It asks the Commission to hold New Zealand to two promises it made in its trade agreement with the EU: not to weaken environmental protection to encourage trade or investment, and not to undermine the Paris Agreement on climate change.
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Press release / 29 September 2026New Zealand faces its first climate complaint under EU trade rules
UTRECHT / WELLINGTON, 29 September 2026 /30 September in Aotearoa New Zealand
Both ENDS, a Dutch environmental justice organisation, has lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission arguing that New Zealand has broken the climate promises it made in its free trade agreement with the European Union. It is the first complaint on environmental and climate grounds under the Commission's Single Entry Point, the mechanism that lets civil society ask the EU to enforce the sustainability commitments in its trade agreements.
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News / 3 September 2026Restoring Land, Restoring Hope: Both ENDS at UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia
From 17 to 28 August, governments gathered in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for COP17 of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). At stake was more than how the world responds to land degradation and drought. It was also a question of who gets to shape land restoration, whose knowledge counts, and where the money goes.
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News / 6 July 2026Strengthening Women's Land Rights Across the Rio Conventions
From 29 June – 2 July 2026, Tamara Mohr, GAGGA coordinator at Both ENDS participated in the 4th convening of the Women's Land Rights Initiative (WLRI) in Nairobi, Kenya.Hosted by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, TMG Research and the Huairou Commission, the event brought together grassroots organisations, (inter)national NGOs, government institutions and donors from around the world.
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Publication / 3 July 2026
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Dossier /Gas in Mozambique
In 2011 one of the world’s largest gas reserves was found in the coastal province of Cabo Delgado, in the north of Mozambique. A total of 35 billion dollars has been invested to extract the gas. Dozens of multinationals and financiers are involved in these rapid developments. It is very difficult for the people living in Cabo Delgado to exert influence on the plans and activities, while they experience the negative consequences. With the arrival of these companies, they are losing their land.
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Dossier /Finance for agroecology
The lion's share of public budgets for climate, agriculture and development still goes to conventional agroindustrial projects that contribute to the current climate, food and biodiversity crises. Both ENDS and our partners are calling for a transition to agroecological practices that are people- and environment-friendly.
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Publication / 18 June 2026
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Publication / 12 May 2026
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Press release / 12 May 2026UN report warns of a growing sand crisis - The Dutch dredging sector plays a key role in global sand extraction
GENEVA/UTRECHT, 12 May 2026 – A new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Sand and Sustainability: An Essential Resource for Nature and Development, warns that global demand for sand is exceeding ecological limits. Large-scale extraction of sand from marine and coastal ecosystems is leading to biodiversity loss, damage to coastal communities and increasing risks in an era of climate change. Dutch dredging companies play a prominent role in this as global market leaders in large-scale sand extraction and land reclamation. “Our analyses show that the dredging sector operates globally within a system in which ecological damage and the consequences for coastal communities are systematically underestimated, whilst transparency and effective oversight are often lacking,” says the Dutch environmental and human rights organisation Both ENDS, which contributed to the report.
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News / 14 April 2026New report: Phasing out ISDS in the Netherlands: a roadmap
Today, Both ENDS and SOMO are publishing the report Phasing out ISDS in the Netherlands: a roadmap. In the report, we highlight the Netherlands’ role in the ISDS system and offer practical guidance on phasing out ISDS.
