Hundreds of academics support ‘climate truants’

350 Dutch academics express their support for the climate truants. They “hit the nail right on the head”, write the scientists in an open letter. The letter calls for political leadership and an ambitious climate policy. On Thursday, Dutch school children are demonstrating against the climate change in The Hague.

Jan Rotmans, Professor of Transition Studies at Erasmus University, is one of the initiators of the letter. “The facts speak for themselves: the young activists are right.”

Climate agreement not sufficient

The letter is mainly a summary of scientific facts about climate change. But the scientists also call for a more ambitious climate agreement. Rotmans: “The climate agreement (the policy document by the Dutch government) is not enough. It is too voluntary and doesn’t put the responsibility on the biggest polluters: the industry. Therefore, we demand a significant CO2 tax for companies.”

The letter was signed by 350 academics, including thirteen scientists from Erasmus University. Earlier this week, in a different open letter, scientists also called on universities to do more against climate change.

Read the letter (in Dutch)