Rli 1 July 2020 -
Europe can and must do more to improve international passenger travel by rail. This will contribute towards the EU’s environmental goals, will enhance the economic competitiveness of agglomerations and stimulate sustainable tourism. Moreover, the transport sector will need support from the EU to prevent decline in the wake of the current COVID-19-crisis. This support can be used as an incentive…
Rli 29 June 2020 -
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…
11 March 2020 -
Current policy on hazardous substances is not sufficient to adequately control the risks to people and the physical environment. The use and number of hazardous substances is increasing, as is the reuse of products containing such substances. This is why new policy is needed, according to the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (Rli), in its advisory report ‘A grip on hazardous…
Rli 6 September 2019 -
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…
Rli 22 May 2019 -
The Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Carola Schouten, has set out her ambition to establish a circular agriculture system in the Netherlands. The Council for the Environment and Infrastructure advises the minister to make increasing use of European agricultural funding to support this effort over the coming years and makes a number of recommendations in its advice published on 22…
Rli 18 April 2019 -
Aviation enjoys an exceptional position in Dutch national policy, which holds other mobility sectors or industries more accountable for their impact on the living environment than it does aviation. Aviation growth is increasingly at odds with the Netherlands’ climate objectives and a healthy and pleasant living environment, something that calls for a reconsideration of this exceptional position.…
Rli 26 March 2019 -
The Netherlands must transition to sustainability. Over the coming decades our energy supply, our food system and our economy will be radically transformed. We will also have to adapt to climate change. All tiers of government are working on these four development agendas, but implementation will be a regional affair. The regions are where these agendas will either reinforce each other or stand…
Rli 13 December 2018 -
13 December 2018 – Every building in the Netherlands should be heated from sustainable sources by 2050. The path to that outcome is still very uncertain: the respective responsibilities of the government and citizens, the allocation of costs and the extent to which citizens will be able to choose how they heat their own homes in future. These uncertainties have a negative effect on public support…
Rli 20 November 2018 -
20 November 2018 – The National Environment and Planning Strategy, which is expected to be published early in 2019, is the Dutch government’s main instrument for orienting spatial development in order to ensure a good quality environment. Essential to achieving this is a coherent and integrative approach to the major environmental and development challenges facing the Netherlands. The Council for…
Rli 23 May 2018 -
23 May 2018 - Expanding the capacity of the major road and rail networks cannot provide the answer to the Netherlands’ accessibility problems any longer. The investment strategy must better reflect people’s changing travel needs, make more use of new technologies and be more sustainable. This is the overall conclusion of the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure’s advisory report ‘Better…