Dutch Police Detain 2.9K Climate Activists

Facts

• Dutch police detained an additional 500 climate activists on Sunday, a day after arresting nearly 2.4K out of an estimated 10K protesters blocking the A12 highway into The Hague. Some of those demonstrating were minors.¹
• The activists were reportedly demanding the government put an end to the use of billions of taxpayer Euros to subsidize the fossil fuel industry.²
• Police also deployed water cannons to disperse protesters after they allegedly threatened to 'stay or come back every day' until the government rolled back the financial support.³
• Activists from multiple climate groups — including Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace — reportedly ignored police warnings and prevented traffic heading to the temporary venue for the lower house of parliament.⁴
• This comes after the Netherlands announced in May that it would spend €28B in the coming years to ensure it lowers CO2 emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.⁵
• According to a report published on Monday by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, the government of the Netherlands spends around €37.5B ($40.5B) per year in subsidies for industries that use fossil fuels.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters (a), ²Reuters (b), ³Daily Mail, ⁴FOX News, ⁵Euronews and ⁶Associated Press.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by POLITICO. Climate activists' actions are effective precisely because they work to bring attention to the climate crisis, especially to the fact that extreme temperatures are a sign of the future facing humanity if we fail to abandon our over-reliance on fossil fuels. The Netherlands must heed these protestors' warnings and repeal subsidies for industries that are threatening the planet.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Associated Press. As the Netherlands aims to make the energy sector carbon neutral by 2035, climate activists' destructive and disruptive protests cast doubt about their intentions. There are a myriad of peaceful, civil, and reasonable ways to protest climate and ecological breakdown that don't involve taking a country for ransom.

Predictions