Menu
Menu
The crisis is now. The climate and nature crisis threatens everything we hold dear. Droughts, heatwaves, and floods are causing casualties, chaos, and destruction right now. People are forced to flee, and our future is at stake. But what are big companies doing? They continue to finance and facilitate new destructive projects that exploit people and the environment. A livable world is slipping through our fingers.
And those least responsible for it suffer the most. That’s why on Friday, May 31, we will take to the streets again for a just future. Together, we will show these companies that we have had enough.
Because their profit is our loss. Making money comes at the expense of the health and safety of communities worldwide. Banks, insurers, and fossil fuel multinationals keep adding fuel to the fire. The food, the air we breathe, the drinking water, the farmland, and the forests: everything is polluted. This exploitation of nature goes hand in hand with the exploitation of workers. They do not receive a fair and livable wage because corporate profits are more important. The economy exists for us, for people, not the other way around.
It’s time for workers and citizens to regain control over the direction of companies so that businesses work for society, nature, and the climate instead of a small group of shareholders. While the crisis hits people from all parts of the world hard, these shareholders get richer. Fight for your existence and tackle the shareholders!
The government is also failing and not taking responsibility. Companies are hardly tackled. Worse, the government maintains these companies’ polluting ways of production with permits, billions of euros in subsidies, and legal advantages that protect companies against climate measures. Influenced by a powerful lobby, politicians listen to the big polluters.
Not only here but also in the rest of Europe. Just before the European elections, we are therefore sending a signal: enough is enough. If we unite our voices, no one can ignore us. No lobbyist, no politician, no shareholder. It’s time to prioritize the well-being of people and the planet over shareholder profits.
Companies must be immediately forced to take responsibility for their behavior. That’s why on Friday, May 31, we will transform Amsterdam’s Zuidas into the center of change. The Zuidas is the symbol of the power of large polluting companies; this is where the billions in profits are made at the expense of people, nature, and the climate. Here, shareholders take precedence over the well-being of people and the planet. Here, powerful companies in their gleaming skyscrapers determine what the future will look like. We are going to change that this Friday.
Join the Climate March. Stand side by side with those already suffering from the effects of the climate crisis and come with us to the Zuidas on May 31. We will take to the streets en masse to pressure the polluters and profiteers. For a world where our planet thrives, people flourish, and companies serve us all. Where people come before profit. Take back your share of the future and that of the earth!
Phase out all subsidies, financing, investments, and insurance for the fossil fuel industry. Use the money for a fairer world where those who are currently hardest hit – here and abroad – are compensated.
Give workers, concerned citizens, and the government more say in the direction of large corporations. Let them play a decisive role in making the company more social and sustainable.
Place the heaviest burdens on major polluters, not on people. Invest in good green jobs, affordable public transport, and more insulated social housing.
Climate protests are growing in the Netherlands! In recent years, more and more people have been participating in climate demonstrations. The climate movement has organized various protests over the years.
One of the first mass climate protests in the Netherlands took place on September 21, 2014, in Amsterdam. 5,000 people gathered during the People’s Climate March, which was organized just before the climate summit in New York.
A year later, Amsterdam was once again the backdrop for a climate protest. On November 29, 2015, 7,000 people marched during the Climate Parade, just before the climate summit in Paris that year.
The following year saw even higher turnout. On April 29, 2017, approximately 8,000 people took to the streets for the Climate March in Amsterdam.
2019 was an activist year for the climate movement with a total of three major demonstrations. On February 7, 2019, students took to the streets en masse in The Hague during the Climate Strike. More than 10,000 young people (and older individuals) gathered at Malieveld.
A month later, on March 10, 2019, the Climate March took place. A staggering 40,000 people from all over the Netherlands made their way to Amsterdam, walking from Dam Square to Museumplein despite pouring rain.
In the fall, it was once again the students who massed in action during a new Climate Strike. This time, on September 27, 2019, 35,000 concerned citizens headed to The Hague.
Due to COVID-19, the next mass protest could only take place in 2021. On March 4, 2021, 35,000 people made their voices heard during the Climate Alarm, which took place across the Netherlands.
A few months later, on November 6, 2021, another Climate March took place in Amsterdam. Organized just before the climate summit in Glasgow, this protest attracted 40,000 people.
The following year, Rotterdam was the venue for a Climate March for the first time. “No words, but actions!” shouted approximately 10,000 people on June 19, 2022.
2023 was once again a significant year for the climate movement, starting on September 9, 2023. The support demonstration for the A12 blockades by Extinction Rebellion and the blockade itself brought an estimated 25,000 people to the streets.
Later that year, the largest climate protest ever in the Netherlands took place. On November 12, 2023, 85,000 people marched to Amsterdam for the March for Climate and Justice. During this event, world-famous activist Greta Thunberg addressed the crowds at Museumplein. It was one of the largest demonstrations in the history of the Netherlands.
The March for Climate and Justice is an initiative by the Dutch Climate Crisis Coalition, which is a collaboration between ten different organizations and groups: Oxfam Novib, Fridays For Future, Greenpeace, Extinction Rebellion, FNV, Fossielvrij NL, Milieudefensie, Grootouders voor het Klimaat, Code Rood, DeGoedeZaak and TNI. The protest itself is organized by a team of passionate people like you, as well as a large number of enthusiastic volunteers – and of course we would be nowhere without the people who donate to this cause.
Listen to the available science and be honest about de consequences of the climate crisis. We are looking at uncontrollable global warming and the complete disruption of our habitat. The only answer is rapid change by means of regulating big polluters and reducing greenhouse gases as much as possible. In order to remain under the already disastrous 1.5 degrees of warming, we need to become climate neutral as quickly as possible. Involving civilians in this process is essential. As a rich country we should be leading the way, not trailing behind.
Oil, coal and gas heat up the Earth and spark disastrous conflicts. It is therefore essential that we quit fossil subsidies, block new fossil projects and divest from fossil altogether. Prohibit fossil fuel lobbyists from greenwashing via ads, sponsoring and marketing. Listen to ordinary citizens instead. Our government must radically reduce flights at Schiphol, cancel Lelystad Airport and invest in sustainable alternatives.
We want job security and perspective for everyone currently working in sectors that need to heavily reduce their emissions and/or energy use. The government, as well as companies, can offer guarantees in the shape of retraining and well-paid permanent jobs in e.g. healthcare, energy transition or education. Everyone who transitions to a less pollutive job should be able to make use of this support scheme, and should be offered good working conditions and fair terms of employment.
The big polluters and the richest one percent of the world who have not only caused the climate crisis but have also reaped colossal benefits off of their destructive behaviour, should be the to carry the heaviest burden. Their profits should be invested in civilians instead – especially those with the least resources – for example by insulating homes and investing in healthcare and education.
The climate crisis is a crisis of inequality. Across the globe, the poorest people are affected most by problems they have contributed to the least. Vulnerable countries should therefore be supported in their efforts to adapt to a changing climate. They should also receive compensation for previous damage, and get the means to restore living areas of most affected communities. The Dutch government has an obligation to listen to these communities and to involve them when creating solutions. The climate crisis doesn’t end at the border.
Most of the Netherlands’ energy supply still originates from fossil fuels. We must shift towards sustainable energy and increase its scale on land and at sea, whilst also reducing overall energy use. In this process, benefits for civilians and earnest care for nature must go hand in hand. Participation of civilians is key. Nuclear power plants are no part of the solution due to waste issues, time constraints and safety risks.
The Dutch agricultural system treats farmers unfairly and destroys ecosystems in the process. The future lies in nature-inclusive, circular agriculture with substantially less animals and price guarantees for healthy food. Farmers should receive support in this transition, and should be able to carry out their profession in a sustainable way.
Biodiversity is falling: nitrogen issues, microplastics, waste mountains. Forests are being cut down on a mass scale. This is inconsistent with the need for CO2 uptake via trees, and the importance of healthy ecosystems. Therefore our government must make large-scale investments in nature restoration and biodiversity. Any additional climate solutions must also be sustainable in order to facilitate this process. When tackling the climate crisis and ecological crisis, it is only possible to do so hand in hand.
Join the Climate March. Stand side by side with those who are already suffering from the consequences of the climate crisis, and come with us to the Zuidas on May 31st. En masse, we will take to the streets to put pressure on the polluters and profiteers.
© Climate March 2022 | WEBDESIGN by WOODPACK AGENCY