Seminar on sustainable logistics and climate change in Japan
Alleen de uitgesproken tekst geldt.
(Distinguished guests), ladies and gentlemen,
They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
It is over ten years ago that I lived and worked in Tokyo for a time.
Over the past years, my thoughts have often returned to this intriguing country.
I have continued to follow developments in Japan.
You recently experienced a political earthquake here.
As a politician myself, I find this an exciting development.
These will undoubtedly be turbulent times. I hope that the years ahead will bring you many good things.
When I was here in Tokyo for my studies, I performed research into the stock management at Canon.
It was there that I became acquainted with the term ‘Kyosei’.
In my own language, many more words are needed to explain what this Japanese term means.
I would say that Kyosei involves living together and working together for the general good.
And here in Tokyo I experienced that a society-oriented attitude combines well with the activities of a profitable business. Kyosei is also very well suited to our meeting today: working together for a sustainable future.
The Netherlands is making its way in the world with a mere 16 million inhabitants. We are 16th on the world economy rankings, the fifth exporter and the sixth foreign investor.
It is a great pleasure for me that the Netherlands can be represented here today by a large delegation of world class companies.
I would like in particular to mention the representatives of the port of Rotterdam led by vice-mayor Bolsius.
The Netherlands is steadily developing as the logistics hub of Europe with the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam as well as Amsterdam Schiphol Airport as junctions in the global network.
We are doing so in a sustainable manner, with a view to society, a view to the general good.
In my country, just like here in Japan, this is high on the agenda.
Economic development in the Kyosei way.
Allow me to sketch the broad outlines of this for you.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and the port of Rotterdam are the driving forces behind our economy.
As the gateways to Europe they link my centrally situated country to the whole world.
The Dutch government does not regard these two mainports and the other seaports as stand-alone entities.
Rather, we have an integrated approach to the transport and logistics network.
This approach makes it possible to make the best decisions on investing in space and infrastructure that are important to the whole country.
And it aids us to work in cohesion, as sustainably as possible.
If we wish to maintain our standard of living (and we do!) we have to enable the port of Rotterdam and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to grow.
Growth in order to maintain a global network of connections.
This growth is limited by the load it represents for society.
This demands well-considered choices.
For Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, this means that growth is being concentrated on the development of intercontinental commercial flights and cargo transport. Regional airports elsewhere in the country can focus more on European air traffic, including holiday flights.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is determined to use technological innovations to limit in as far as possible the emissions of CO2 and other hazardous substances.
Schiphol has set itself the target of becoming a carbon-neutral airport over the years ahead.
This brings me to the port of Rotterdam. Due to the construction of the so-called Tweede Maasvlakte, the port is able to expand.
This construction is currently in full swing. We are reclaiming thousands of hectares of land from the sea and thus expanding the capacity of the port of Rotterdam by no less than one-third.
We restore natural balance, based in part on European agreements.
We do so by designating quiet areas for bird and fish populations and by constructing a new dune area along the coast.
Rotterdam is one of the world’s largest ports and the largest in Europe.
I can inform you that in the first quarter of 2009, the market share of Rotterdam in the area from Hamburg to Le Havre rose by 2 percent to over 37 percent.
Capacity is important, but our main asset is our so-called smart logistics.
Quality as a logistics hub, the quality of the services provided and the quality of our transport links with the hinterland.
This quality has been increased by, among other things, the construction of the so-called Betuwe Line.
A dedicated, 160-kilometre long freight railway line that links the port directly with Germany.
The line that starts at the Tweede Maasvlakte, went into use two years ago. Today, some 200 freight trains a week use this fast transport corridor.
At the same time, we are working on our road transport links.
We have a good road network, but traffic congestion is a major problem in the Netherlands, like it is in Japan.
This is damaging to both the economy and the environment.
In the years ahead, we will be working on improving vital motorways, for example by constructing a motorway (the A15) that will contribute to a better connection of the port of Rotterdam with the European hinterland.
With a view to the entire network, at the same time we are improving crucial road links.
Traffic congestion is the order of the day in peak hours.
This also causes considerable problems for goods transport to and from the ports.
By combating traffic congestion we are benefitting both the environment and the economy.
By expanding roads, as well as by using them differently.
For example, I am working on the introduction of a new, advanced system whereby road users will pay for using their cars and not for simply owning them. Satellite technology will assist us in this. The government is also encouraging companies to allow their employees to travel outside of peak hours.
We are thus working on several fronts to improve the flow of traffic.
At the same time, we are making our fleet of vehicles more sustainable, with clean and economical cars as part of our total logistics strategy.
Remember: the demand for clean and economical cars is growing globally.
This offers opportunities for ports, given that innovative cars will also have to be transported.
The image the Netherlands is projecting of itself in Europe is one of a testing ground for electric cars by financially supporting their development and purchase.
Economical cars are popular in these financially uncertain times in which consumers are watching the pennies even more carefully.
The Japanese-made, extremely economical Toyota Prius is a good example. It is one of the few cars that continues to sell well in my country despite the economic crisis.
But enough about our investment in sustainable road transport links.
There are other options.
Let us by all means not forget waterways.
Inland waterways are still the most environmentally-friendly way of transporting goods to the hinterland.
For this reason, in the Netherlands we are also working on good transport links by water.
The port of Rotterdam supports these developments by making agreements with companies that will be located on the Tweede Maasvlakte.
These companies should only transport one-third of their containers by road.
The majority should go by train or barge.
Sustainability applies both as a limiting condition and as an opportunity in the development of the port.
The consequences for the environment, the climate and nature are decisive factors in all our decisions.
At the same time, there is a global demand for doing business sustainably and economically.
A demand for sustainable energy and chemistry, for the capture and storage of CO2.
There is a living to be made in sustainable transport.
With the support of the Dutch government, Rotterdam wishes to be a European leader in the underground storage of CO2 in gas fields under the North Sea.
Currently, we are busy conducting tests involving the capture, transport and storage of CO2.
In Japan too, developments in this field are in full swing.
You have a wealth of knowledge regarding the capture and transport of CO2.
What my country can offer is, among other things, experience in transport via pipelines.
This visit to your country is a good opportunity to exchange knowledge of this innovative field and to profit to the optimum from one another’s experience.
Another issue, finally, that plays an important role in sustainable transport is global climate change negotiations.
The Dutch government is a firm advocate of global agreements.
The CO2 emissions of both the aviation sector and the shipping industry should be included in the climate treaty, the final negotiations of which will take place in December in Copenhagen.
Ladies and gentlemen,
To kick-off this seminar I have outlined how the Netherlands intends to develop further as the logistics hub of Europe.
We are investing in our economic growth in a sustainable manner, which I would like to term the ‘Kyosei way’.
I know from experience that this way of working and thinking is familiar here in Japan.
I trust that at the end of this seminar you will have a good picture of the efforts the Dutch government and our business community are making in the field of sustainable transport and logistics.
I am particularly looking forward to hearing the contributions from the Japanese side about the latest developments here regarding sustainable transport.
All that remains for me is to wish you all an educative and inspiring afternoon.
Thank you for your attention.