Initiating Commissioner van Nieuwenhuizen shows leadership at home
Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (Infrastructure and Water Management), initiating Commissioner of the GCA, today signed the Administrative Agreement on Climate Adaptation, together with municipalities, district water boards, and provinces throughout the Netherlands. Under the agreement, some 600 million euros will be set aside to accommodate investments in climate adaptation and all tiers of the Dutch government will invest heavily in climate adaptation, boosting the Netherlands’ resilience against the impact of climate.
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s a result of the investments and adaptation actions, the country will be better able to cope with waterlog caused by extreme downpours, urban areas will be re-paved, more greenery will be planted, and water collection facilities will be created.Additionally, both rural and urban areas will be provided with additional water storage to create water buffers during prolonged periods of drought.
Minister Van Nieuwenhuizen said “This is a real ‘get down to work’ agreement. It is important that we start taking additional steps in redesigning our streets, gardens, and our living environment to accommodate the impact of climate change. The weather extremes that we have experienced over the past year have made this abundantly clear. The driest and warmest summer in forty years caused a water shortage, whereas at other times, severe downpours flooded streets and houses.”
Investments
By signing the agreement, the national government on the one hand and the provinces, district water boards, and municipalities on the other, have each pledged to set aside 300 million euros in the years ahead to earmark for climate adaptation. By 2020, regional plans will indicate, based on stress tests, how and which projects will result in the most efficient use of the 600 million euros. According to an earlier Deltares study, the damage in the Netherlands caused by extreme rainfall and prolonged drought in cities may rise to approx. 71 billion euros by 2050.
International efforts
Extreme weather and water crises pose a worldwide threat. In addition to earmarking additional funds for climate adaptation in the Netherlands, Minister Van Nieuwenhuizen has also initiated the Global Commission on Adaptation which was launched last month. At next year’s UN Climate Summit in New York, the Commission leaders–Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Kristalina Georgieva, CEO, World Bank– will present an action program to improve the resilience of vulnerable areas in the world. In 2020, the Netherlands will host a major international Climate Adaptation Action Summit, which we will showcase what the Commission has already achieved and what further actions it is planning to take.
