https://app.wedonthavetime.org/posts/400d259f-85b5-4392-8cd9-038104a64499
By Reinette Klever
We’ve been extensively writing, here on We Don’t Have Time, about the freeze of USAID funding that Trump has announced and the devastating consequences that this decision has and will have on climate action in the US and around the world. The thing is: he has now inspired other leaders to do the same and cut development aid budgets. While we could have hoped that Europe and European countries would take the lead, fill the void, and start acting as reasonable countries, the Netherlands proves us wrong. The Dutch government announced yesterday, on February 20, that it will take a so-called “Netherlands-first approach” with development aid, meaning that it will make significant cuts into projects focused on gender equality, education, and climate, among others.
The Schoof I Cabinet (the government of the Netherlands) plans to cut development aid budgets by €500 million next year, and then by €2.4 billion each subsequent year. Minister Reinette Klever for Foreign Trade and Development Aid previously announced that she would cut 200 million euros per year from aid organizations in the coming five years.
The first programs facing significant cuts focus on gender equality, women’s rights, education, sports, and cultural development. Regarding the climate crisis, the Netherlands has now announced that it will only meet the obligations in the Paris Climate Agreement and no more! Klever is also reducing the Netherlands’ contribution to organizations like Unicef and UNDP by half.
This is what happens when the far-right governs. Now I just hope that people around the world (Germany, I am looking at you ) realize how destructive it is, for people, for our future, for our planet, to cast a vote in favor of the far-right…
