Authorities in the Netherlands used water cannons to clear thousands of climate protesters blocking a highway in a Saturday act of protest, Reuters reported.
Eco-activists affiliated with Extinction Rebellion’s Netherlands arm, Greenpeace and other organizations took over a highway near The Hague to protest the Dutch government’s subsidies for the oil and gas industries, according to Reuters. In addition to using the water cannons to disperse the protesters, authorities detained around 2,400 protesters.
Minors were among those detained, and no injuries have been reported, according to Reuters. A report surfaced earlier in the week that outlined about $40.5 billion in oil- and gas-related subsidies provided by the Dutch government, particularly related to shipping, according to ABC. (RELATED: Climate Activists Spray Paint Yacht Apparently Belonging To Walmart Heiress)
Wij gaan door. Vandaag. Morgen. Overmorgen. Iedere dag tot het kabinet stopt met fossiele subsidies. #A12 12:00#StopFossieleSubsidies #Klimaatrechtvaardigheid pic.twitter.com/ejnsqiKWrA
— Extinction Rebellion Nederland (@NLRebellion) September 9, 2023
Over 10,000 activists marched on the A12 highway in protest, according to Reuters. The protesters ignored warnings from authorities instructing them not to do so, and the disruption garnered a considerable police response.
Extinction Rebellion, the organization principally responsible for orchestrating the protest, has stated that it will continue to organize protests until the Dutch government eliminates public funding for the oil and gas industries, according to Reuters.
The activists further threatened that they would come back every day until the subsidies are eliminated, even if the police remove them each time, according to ABC. A follow-up protest is planned for Sunday.
“The ministry understands the concerns of the protesters about the climate. But occupying a highway is not the way to address the issue,” a spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The ministry also believes tax benefits for fossil energy do not fit within a green economy. We have already started abolishing and phasing out those benefits. But complete abolition can not be done overnight.”
Rob Jetten, the country’s minister for climate and energy, acknowledged that his country should terminate the subsidies, but he has not proposed a timeline for doing so, according to The Associated Press.
“This is much larger than any one of us. This concerns the whole world,” climate activist Yolanda de Jager said, according to ABC.
The activists marched with signs adorned with slogans such as “fossil fuel subsidies are not cool,” according to ABC. The climate protest notwithstanding, the Dutch government is one of the most aggressive on climate change-related policies.
Extinction Rebellion is one of numerous climate activism groups that receives funding from the Climate Emergency Fund (CEF), a U.S.-based nonprofit that receives donations from many wealthy American liberals and funds disruptive activism groups all over the world, according to CEF’s website. High-profile donors to CEF include Hollywood writer Adam McKay, “Succession” star Jeremy Strong and Hillary Clinton’s Onward Together foundation, according to CEF’s 2022 annual report.
Extinction Rebellion’s Netherlands arm and Greenpeace did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
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