Climate protestors, including sought-after climate activist Greta Thunberg, were detained at the Hague over the weekend. They were part of a larger group demonstrating against the Dutch government’s tax concessions for companies with ties to the fossil fuel sector, such as Shell.
The arrests followed a protest march from the Hague city center to a field next to the A12 highway. It was during this time that a number of the protestors tried to create a blockade on the highway, leading to their detainment by police. The protest was organized by environmental campaign group Extinction Rebellion and was a part of an international campaign against fossil fuel subsidies in Europe named “United for Climate Justice”.
Extinction Rebellion and its affiliated movements from around the globe are aiming a spotlight at fossil subsidies, which are government initiatives that either lower the cost of fossil energy production or increase the price received by fossil fuel producers. Fossil fuel subsidies are a contentious issue, particularly among climate activists, who believe they contribute to the ongoing global climate and ecological crisis.
The “United for Climate Justice” movement is certainly not losing momentum, with further action against fossil subsidies planned for early May. The campaign groups are expected to bus protestors from throughout the Netherlands to Brussels with the plan to create another road blockade, further encapsulating the scale and seriousness of their collective dissatisfaction with fossil subsidies.
The protests saw parallel demonstrations taking place in Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Italy, UK, Poland, and the Netherlands, showing it to be an issue of international concern. Advocates for change aim to demonstrate that the fossil industry and governments are driving the global climate and ecological crisis through these very fossil subsidies. This weekend’s events at the Hague are likely only the beginning of a larger, pan-European movement.
Read more details about the protest and its follow-up actions.