“No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.” – Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
As Barack Obama stated in his State of the Union address in 2015, climate change is a long-term problem. It has proven to be very tough to solve, which is why addressing the issue through interdisciplinary thinking could be beneficial. Climate change affects the Netherlands for various reasons. Increasing temperatures cause a rise in sea-levels. Meanwhile, precipitation levels are increasing, and melting ice caps causes the threat of rivers flooding. This is why The Netherlands had to invest heavily in strengthening dykes and dunes in the past few years. The Netherlands also experience problems in the fishing …show more content…
Research points out that many politicians feel that adaptation is an issue for developing countries, not developed countries. Right-wing parties in particular tend to consider climate change as a superficial problem, not something that is related to economic vitality and energy supply. The PVV’s (a right- wing populistic Dutch political party) election programme wants to halt subsidies windmills or any kind of innovation that contributes to green energy. If political decisions are primarily based on short term benefits instead of anticipating future risks of climate change, adaptation agreements and legislation will often be …show more content…
Extreme weather conditions can damage infrastructures, bringing huge financial burdens. This can slow down economic growth and negatively impact the global economy, on which the Netherlands are very dependant. There are various economic barriers that keep governments from making decisions about climate change adaption, for example, the costs of acquiring information and of making actual adjustments. Another barrier is formed by ethics that suggest that decisions should not only be made on account of future benefits, but also for the impact it has on current capital. Because a majority of countries rely on greenhouse gas emitting energy sources for a big part of their economic activity and because these energy sources are connected to the vitality of a state’s economy, implementing policies that, for example, in any way decrease the availability of fossil fuels, prompt fears of a decrease in the health of the economy.
Legislational
The barriers of climate change legislation are mainly formed by political choices. When politicians cannot agree on a suitable way of limiting the negative effects of climate change due to varying opinions about and views on the issue, no laws can be set up and no significant improvements will be established.
As Barack Obama stated in his State of the Union address in 2015, climate change is a long-term problem. It has proven to be very tough to solve, which is why addressing the issue through interdisciplinary thinking could be beneficial. Climate change affects the Netherlands for various reasons. Increasing temperatures cause a rise in sea-levels. Meanwhile, precipitation levels are increasing, and melting ice caps causes the threat of rivers flooding. This is why The Netherlands had to invest heavily in strengthening dykes and dunes in the past few years. The Netherlands also experience problems in the fishing …show more content…
Research points out that many politicians feel that adaptation is an issue for developing countries, not developed countries. Right-wing parties in particular tend to consider climate change as a superficial problem, not something that is related to economic vitality and energy supply. The PVV’s (a right- wing populistic Dutch political party) election programme wants to halt subsidies windmills or any kind of innovation that contributes to green energy. If political decisions are primarily based on short term benefits instead of anticipating future risks of climate change, adaptation agreements and legislation will often be …show more content…
Extreme weather conditions can damage infrastructures, bringing huge financial burdens. This can slow down economic growth and negatively impact the global economy, on which the Netherlands are very dependant. There are various economic barriers that keep governments from making decisions about climate change adaption, for example, the costs of acquiring information and of making actual adjustments. Another barrier is formed by ethics that suggest that decisions should not only be made on account of future benefits, but also for the impact it has on current capital. Because a majority of countries rely on greenhouse gas emitting energy sources for a big part of their economic activity and because these energy sources are connected to the vitality of a state’s economy, implementing policies that, for example, in any way decrease the availability of fossil fuels, prompt fears of a decrease in the health of the economy.
Legislational
The barriers of climate change legislation are mainly formed by political choices. When politicians cannot agree on a suitable way of limiting the negative effects of climate change due to varying opinions about and views on the issue, no laws can be set up and no significant improvements will be established.