The Netherlands

Overview

In the Netherlands, all the elements of successful green planning have come together to make environmental recovery a reality. The Netherlands possesses the most advanced framework for achieving sustainability of any industrialized nation: the National Environmental Policy Plan, or NEPP, which was first adopted in 1989 and is now in its fourth incarnation. The NEPP is supported by innovative environmental management approaches with a reliable fiscal commitment and strategic governance that is highly accountable to its participatory citizenry.

Recent news

In November 2002 the Council of Ministers approved the Sustainable Development Action Program entitled, "Energetic Sustainability." The Program consists of an international strategy and a national strategy and describes how the government will flesh out the agreements made during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg last September. The government is earmarking an initial sum of EUR 30 million a year for the implementation of the international strategy.
Read more …

With the help of the Netherlands Agency for Energy and the Environment (NOVEM), VROM (the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment) has embarked on an ambitious plan to persuade every local council in the Netherlands to adopt its own realistic climate policy. Read more in VROM's publication, Shared Spaces.

Currently

Not only does the Dutch green plan integrate all environmental issues into one coherent, ecosystem-based policy, it integrates them with human factors like public health and the economy. Since the formulation of the first NEPP, new instruments have emerged for developing environmental policy that focus on improving a sense of responsibility and co-operative management rather than compliance with the rules. The main instruments include, target group consultation, covenants, and emissions trading.

More than 250,000 Dutch businesses are participating in the plan through performance-driven covenants with government. These legally binding agreements target emissions reductions, improved environmental quality of products, and energy conservation.

Major reductions in pollution of air, water, and land have been achieved through the plan along with a streamlined regulatory process that is saving both time and money. The Dutch are reducing pressure on the environment even as their GDP climb.

The Dutch Cabinet published the fourth National Environmental Policy Plan (NEPP4) (.8 Mb PDF)in June 2001. It specifically addresses persistent environmental problems and sets the agenda and the strategy for dealing with these problems. NEPP4 takes a long-term perspective (2030), focusing on transitions to sustainability in three areas: energy efficiency, agriculture and biodiversity, and natural resources.

RRI archives

Over the years RRI has benefited from the extensive analyses and research by staff, international advisors and guest contributors. RRI archives provide a valuable historic perspective on green planning in the Netherlands (current to the year 2001) even though the information may not reflect current affairs. Please check the Netherlands archives for an extensive review of the Dutch environmental policy framework, copies of speeches and reports.

More online resources

Visit the Netherlands links page to find out more about the green plan of the Netherlands, and review the RRI archives for additional information.

The Dutch have managed to achieve an "absolute decoupling" of economic growth and environmental pressure, except as related to carbon dioxide."