Last fall, the new Dutch government coalition announced it would close down all five of the Netherland’s coal power plants by 2030, including three that opened as recently as 2015. The coal phaseout was a part of a plan to cut emissions by 49 per cent compared to 1990 levels by 2030, a target more ambitious than the one set by the EU (40 per cent). The coalition agreement also mentions a carbon floor price of 18 euros in 2020, rising to 43 euros per tonne in 2030. [...]
‘We backed this process because we thought, simply, that it was necessary: there are no jobs on a dead planet,’ explained Patrick van Klink. ‘Additionally, the changing of the economy came with the creation of new jobs which were not unionised, and this was an opportunity for us. Many of the new jobs that were created were flexible, precarious; because we were involved in the process, we could make a fuss about this from the start.’ [...]
Nowadays, about 2 500 jobs are threatened by the coal phaseout, in the coal plants, coal terminals at the Dutch ports and in transport sector. They are few in comparison to the number of mining jobs lost decades ago, but the political context has changed so much that the unions are worried whether they can get a fair deal today.
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