WRR launches Climate Policy project
Global climate change has a serious impact on the Netherlands in many different ways. The country is grappling not only with the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the transition to a more sustainable economy, but also with rising sea levels and fluctuating weather patterns. The Netherlands has committed to both national and international agreements aimed at tackling climate change (mitigation) and absorbing the consequences of global warming (adaptation), but there are still a lot of difficult choices to be made in both the short and longer term. It is against that background that the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) has included the Climate Policy project in its work programme. This WRR project focuses on two aspects of climate policy: climate justice and long-term policy.
Climate justice
Because climate policy affects citizens and businesses in a variety of ways, the consequences of climate policy are not borne equally by all groups in society. Through its focus on climate justice, the WRR aims to help develop appropriate conceptual frameworks to achieve a fair distribution of both the benefits and the burden of climate change and climate policy.
Long-term policy
This project also focuses on the development of policy for the long term – to 2050 and beyond. In this way, the WRR intends to contribute to a climate policy which is flexible and able to respond to new developments, but which is also robust enough to guarantee the adjustments in social, economic and technological infrastructures that are necessary to tackle the effects of climate change.
The WRR work programme
The Council decides which subjects to place on its agenda. These are always cross-domain or cross-sector issues with a long-term horizon. To ensure a high-quality work programme, the WRR regularly consults government officials, policymakers, politicians, academics and civil society. We also receive advice requests from the government. The decision to place a topic on the agenda is preceded by extensive internal discussions.
In its research projects the WRR regularly collaborates with universities, other advisory councils, and policymakers. By drawing on available knowledge and maintaining an extensive dialogue with civil society actors, the WRR bridges the gap between science and policy. That means its studies and recommendations are not only firmly rooted in scientific knowledge but also geared to the needs of society.