Toespraak van de staatssecretaris van Infrastructuur en Milieu, Wilma Mansveld bij de presentatie van het New Climate Economy Report

Toespraak | 20-01-2015

Señor Calderón, Mr Holliday, Mr Steer, Distinguished guests,

It is a pleasure to have you here. I met you all earlier in New York, I read your report and to me this subject is very important. So this meeting makes me very impatient. Let me explain why. For years we’ve had worldwide debate on the reality of climate change. It was a good and necessary debate – and we still need more knowledge on how, where and when it happens. We should leave those questions to scientists, who are the real experts on the issue. But the basic question in the debate has been answered: climate is real and climate change is here. Right now there’s a whole new debate. This time it’s all about economic growth and climate action harming each other. Today, I say: let’s end that debate as well, for once and for all. Why? Because it is a debate that did not bring us very far. In fact, more often than it has been used by some as an excuse to do nothing.

This report could not be stated any clearer. And it’s conclusions are not in question. Climate action and economic growth can be achieved together. Even better: they can boost each other! To state it more clearly: we can have our cake and eat it too. Of course, we cannot have it for free. All good business requires hard work, and a stubborn focus on opportunities and solutions. On future economic prospects instead of doomsday scenarios. Take, for instance, Unilever, a proud Dutch company and a worldwide business leader. This multinational aims to halve its ecological footprint by 2020. That means 50% less CO2, 50% less water use, 50% less waste and 100% use of sustainable agricultural resources, all within 5 years. Now that is an ambitious business model! Because Unilever also aims to improve the quality of its products and its market position this way. And rightly so!

Of course not all companies can be multinationals. Let me give you another example, from the more than one million small and medium enterprises in The Netherlands. One of them is called BioFutura – a company that grew from the belief that we have a worldwide problem with oil and plastics. They created alternatives for disposable (plastic) tableware: cups, plates and cutlery all made from renewables: like wood and sugar cane or from natural waste, like fallen palm leaves. They mean business, both economically and in the way we treat our planet.

I talked about big, medium and small business. But let me also give you a small personal example. I don’t have a business – of course that is impossible in my current job. But I do have solar panels on the roof of my home. I installed them not only because I’m an idealist. In fact, I would never have done it without the guarantee that I would have my investment returned within seven years. Solar panels are an economic opportunity! This way of thinking creates jobs, strengthens your market position and makes our economy both resilient and fit for the future.

All this shows us that we have a golden opportunity before us. It is right here and we can grab it if we want to! So that is why I am impatient. In fact, I would almost promise you my savings if you just promised to invest in the New Climate Economy. Not that my savings would make big impact on the world market, but if I could just convince one company this way... Luckily, there are better ways to help each other:

I can help you with Green Deals – where you draw up an agreement on sustainability and ask me/government for the appropriate parameters. For example, I’ve concluded a plastics agreement with 55 businesses, knowledge institutions and NGOs, to close the plastic cycle. Recycling plastic is big business, and the knowledge involved is an export product. And I also think there are more examples of Dutch knowledge that is ready to export. So show me your proposals and I’ll help you to boost investment opportunities in a simple, practical way. Our National Energy Agreement for Sustainable Growth is another way to help. More than 40 different partners – from Shell to Greenpeace! – have joined and are committed to saving energy, to more renewable energy and to 15.000 new jobs as well. It is a National Agreement that is looked upon by other countries with envy. Still, it is a difficult task and I know there is some scepticism about it in The Netherlands. But the commitment is there and I believe it can be done. In our earlier meeting I explained that we in Holland have this thing with rules. Other countries ask in wonder how we did this, but we tend to focus only on the rules that seem to prevent us from getting it done. And also, the agreement is not a goal in itself, but a step toward our clean energy ambitions in the coming decades. And we can help each other if you all join the Dutch Climate Coalition. We started out – just before Christmas – with 50 Dutch companies, cities, local governments and other stakeholders all striving for climate neutrality in their operations before 2050. Today, that number has almost tripled, to one-hundred and thirty-six [136]. And there’s room for many more! Ladies and gentlemen, I call upon each and every one of you: don’t stay behind! Join this growing coalition! I believe that businesses, cities, government, people – we cannot do it alone. It can only be done together. So all of us must be part of a global Climate Agreement. It is my aim to reach that agreement in Paris at the end of this year. And I want you on board to reach that agreement.

Think of what happens if we let this moment pass? Than we – business and politics – lag behind in endless debate while society speeds away into a new, sustainable era. Than the Dutch economy becomes a relic of the past while the rest of the world prospers. I don’t want that to happen on my watch. We all want our cake and eat it.

I often quote a proverb that says: 'If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.'. So tell me what action you are taking. Tell me where I can help. Because I want us all to go very, very far. If you want that too, than this is your moment. Right now is the time to change the tone of the climate debate from idealism to your pragmatism. Right now it is time for business.