The Dutch Network for Climate Obstruction Studies (Climate Obstruction NL) brings together academics, investigative journalists and NGO researchers who are studying climate obstruction in the Netherlands. Climate Obstruction NL is an initiative by Martijn Duineveld (Associate Professor, Wageningen University), in collaboration with Linda Knoester (Solid Sustainability Research) and Alexander Beunder (Platform Authentieke Journalistiek). Our network is similar to the Climate Social Science Network (CSSN) which is a worldwide network focused on academic climate obstruction research, based at Brown University, United States. We deliberately stimulate cross-sector collaboration, while being aware of our different roles, approaches and strengths.
Climate Obstruction NL connects climate obstruction researchers to promote knowledge exchange and research collaboration. It provides a point of contact for questions about climate obstruction from policymakers, the media, academics, students, NGOs, investors, business leaders, and the public. Our website gives an overview of a selection of Dutch climate obstruction researchers and their expertise, relevant events and climate obstruction research. We plan to organise workshops and conferences for network members, and information sessions and activities accessible to stakeholders and society.
Stay up to date by following our LinkedIn page. Do you have questions, feedback or requests? Reach out to us via email.
Main principles
Goal of the network
- Climate Obstruction NL is a network organization which aims to promote knowledge exchange and research collaboration.
- Network participants participate in a personal capacity.
- No (normative or factual) statements are made in the name of the network.
Independence of members
- The roles and interest differences between journalists, NGOs and academics are recognized and the different goals and roles of knowledge within different fields are part of constant self-reflection.
- The network neither represents nor is responsible for the statements or written pieces of individual participants.
- Participants maintain their independence from other participants and from the network.
Funding
- Finances of the network are shared publicly on the website.
- Funds available to the network are not used for members.
- No dues are expected from members.
- The network has no profit motive.
Collaboration Policy
Anyone working on research related to any aspects of climate obstruction and climate accountability is welcome to join our network, as long as their climate obstruction work is not for profit. Our network participants include academics, journalists and NGO researchers. Please fill in this form if you’d like to join our network.
We are open to collaborations with not-for-profit organisations and people who do not strictly focus on climate obstruction research but share the same values and/or goals as us. Reach out to us if you’d like to collaborate.
Our Goal
Analyse, understand and expose climate obstruction in the Netherlands, in particular misinformation, tactics of delay, greenwashing, influence and power structures which obstruct climate action, in order to accelerate a just transition to a post-fossil and equitable society.
Our Values
The principles of academic integrity: honesty, diligence, transparency, independence, and responsibility; The journalistic code: truthful, independent, fair, and transparent reporting.
Exclusion Policy
We do not collaborate with or accept funds from parties whose goals and values conflict with ours, such as those that expand fossil fuel use, exploit people and nature, delay the transition to a post-fossil and equitable world, or promote misinformation. More specifically, we do not collaborate with or accept funds from organisations involved in the exploration and production of coal, oil and gas (we use the GOGEL en GCEL lists as a reference, plus lobby organisations and fossil-industry funded think tanks), human rights abuses and production of weapons (any evidence of this leads to non-collaboration), deforestation (any company in the Forest 500 with a score lower than 60% in the most current assessment), and industrial agriculture (companies with any revenues from industrial agriculture, defined as large-scale monoculture farming with high fertiliser and pesticide input, and large-scale cattle farming). We also do not collaborate or accept money from financial institutions that still invest in fossil fuels.
Why climate obstruction research in the Netherlands?
The Netherlands has been at the forefront of acknowledging climate change since the 1980s. Unfortunately, it cannot be considered a climate hero. The government has favoured “positive” measures appreciated by the industry, such as creating subsidies for “sustainable” oil refineries and retaining €37 billion in annual fossil subsidies. Emissions in the Netherlands may have decreased on paper, but the country still has a long way to go in transitioning to a more climate just and post-fossil society. The Netherlands is one of the highest emitters in Europe and the Dutch economy remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels. In fact, in 2022 the country ranked 5th last in renewable energy adoption in Europe. This is concerning, especially given that key industries like the chemical industry have not made significant emissions reductions since the mid-2010s and currently have no plans to do so soon.
Part of the delay in implementing serious climate policies is due to the obstruction of mitigation regulations by high-emitting industries and state actors, using tactics of climate denial, doubt mongering, and lobbying. The Dutch history of climate governance is therefore one of great ambitions dashed by climate obstruction, which is an umbrella term for various obstacles which stand in the way of effective climate mitigation. According to Ekberg et al. (2022), these range from ‘literal denial of anthropogenic climate change to the opposition, delay or dismissal of effective climate policies, at corporate, governmental, societal and individual levels (…).’
We believe academic research, NGO research and investigative reporting on climate obstruction is important and deserves to become a recognised research agenda within the Netherlands because its potential societal impact includes:
- Providing an alternative to, contributing to and deepening transition and climate governance research focused on climate policy implementation and action;
- Contributing to climate literacy;
- Contributing to investigative journalism and press coverage of climate obstruction;
- Providing a knowledge base for NGOs working on climate accountability, legislation and combating climate crime (e.g. in court cases);
- Contributing to the understanding of the power of past decisions and pathways to a post-fossil society;
- Contributing to making space for alternative policies and actions and alternative futures beyond the status quo, like degrowth, regenerative economies and so on.
Climate obstruction NL, a research agenda
In the Dutch context only a few dozen reports, academic papers and journalistic works have demonstrated how denial, discourses of delay, very effective marketing of the fossil industry, and close ties of fossil companies like Shell or the agro-industry with Dutch universities and politics impedes the transition towards a post-fossil society. Yet more work needs to be done to fully map and understand how the fossil fuel industry and other high emitters obstruct and have obstructed effective climate mitigation. For the Netherlands we propose a research agenda with a focus on:
- The production and dissemination of climate disinformation
- The production and dissemination of discourses of climate delay
- ‘Greenwashing’: the normalisation of fossil fuel dependencies and petrocultures by the oil & gas industry and dependent industries: aviation, agriculture, steel industry and so on
- The history of corporate and governmental climate obstruction
- Lobbying, revolvinging doors and network corruption as obstruction
- Fossil (legitimising) infrastructures and investments as obstruction
References
Brulle, J. T. Roberts and M.C. Spencer (2014) ‘Climate Obstruction across Europe’, Oxford University Press. https://cssn.org/news-research/europe-volume/
Duineveld, M., Dix, G., Plets, GJ, Huzier, V. (2024) ‘Climate Obstruction in the Netherlands: Strategic and systemic obstruction of Dutch climate policies (1980-present)’ in Brulle, J. T. Roberts and M.C. Spencer (Eds.) ‘Climate Obstruction across Europe’, Oxford University Press. https://cssn.org/news-research/europe-volume/
Ekberg, K.; Forchtner, B.; Hultman, M.; Jylhä, K. M (2022). Climate Obstruction: How Denial, Delay and Inaction Are Heating the Planet; Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003181132.