Press release

In accessibility policy, the focus is too one-sided, concentrating on eliminating traffic congestion and investing in new infrastructure projects. Other solutions, such as spreading traffic throughout the day, digital alternatives or smart urbanisation policies, should be given more consideration in decisions to improve accessibility. Government and parliament could also respond more actively to social trends and technological developments that make other solutions possible. This is the conclusion of the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (Rli, the Council) in its advisory report "Towards an integrated accessibility policy", commissioned by the Dutch House of Representatives. Member of Parliament Rutger Schonis (D66) accepted the advisory report on behalf of the House of Representatives on 10 February 2021.

Climate-neutral hydrogen is an indispensable link in the future supply of energy and feedstocks. However, a market for climate-neutral hydrogen will not simply materialise automatically. It requires the government to build infrastructure, finance new technology and stimulate demand for hydrogen with targeted measures. These are the conclusions of the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure in its advisory report 'Hydrogen, the missing link'. Sandor Gaastra, Director-General of Climate and Energy, accepted the advisory report today on behalf of the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Bas van 't Wout.

After the corona crisis, the Dutch Government will have to assist the process of economic recovery. The most effective recovery measures would be those that boost both the economy and employment, in the short term, while also contributing to a sustainable economy in the longer term. This is the conclusion by the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (Rli) in its advisory report, ’Green Recovery', presented on the 10th of July to the Ministers and State Secretaries of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Economic Affairs  and Climate Policy, Infrastructure and Water Management, and Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.

The health of rural soils in the Netherlands is in jeopardy, but current soil policy provides an inadequate response. Objectives for nature, water and climate are not being met and agricultural yields are under threat. The government must do more to ensure soils are suitable for multiple uses, but also that activities take place where the soil is able to support them. Amendments to the legislation will be needed. These are the conclusions of the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure’s advisory report Soils for sustainability, which was presented to Carola Schouten, Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality on 29 june 2020. With this advice the Council aims to move soil policy higher up the political agenda.

6 September 2019 – The number of tourists visiting the Netherlands has grown exponentially in the past ten years and will continue to do so in the years to come. Tourism now generates as much revenue as the construction sector and more than double that of agriculture. The rising pressure of tourism is also causing ever more problems and inconvenience, however, a situation that is harmful to the living environment and that will, in the long term, be detrimental to the sector itself. Municipal, provincial and national policymakers are not taking enough interest in tourism to effectively manage its growth in the Netherlands in the future. This is the conclusion reached by the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (Rli) in its advisory report Desirable Tourism: Capitalising on Opportunities in the Living Environment presented to the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and the State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.