Climate & Energy Programme

Why do we need this programme?

Tackling climate change is a key priority for the Dutch government. Education, culture and science play a constructive role in this. For example, educators teach crucial skills for installing heat pumps and solar panels. Artists, filmmakers and theatre directors can spur people to action, appeal to the imagination and hold up a mirror to society. Scientists don’t just produce facts about climate change. They also continually develop the knowledge that we need so urgently for sustainable technologies and sustainable behaviour. This programme aims to coordinate these different climate-related efforts, working jointly with the education, culture and science sectors.

How do we do this?

We can only tackle climate change successfully by working together. The Climate & Energy Programme coordinates cooperation in the policy areas that fall under the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW). This includes cooperation within ministry itself, but also with and among the sectors and with other ministries.

Our objectives can be differentiated by sector:

1. Education: incorporating sustainability in the curriculum, training skilled professionals and making school buildings future-proof.
2. Culture: making our historic buildings and our cultural and creative institutions and productions sustainable. We protect our cultural heritage during the energy transition. 
3. Science: funding climate science, giving sustainability a role in research and embedding scientific insights in policy.

The ministry is also responsible for three other cross-cutting policy areas:

1. Gender equality and climate justice: being aware of and taking into account the impact of climate change and climate policy on gender equality, LGBTIQ+ equality and equal rights in the Netherlands.  
2. The power of imagination and design: presenting climate change in ways that enable everyone to understand the need for and importance of action.
3. International exchange: raising awareness about our challenges in Europe, taking advice from other member states on board and learning from other countries.

What will we do?

The programme agenda includes more than 70 actions towards sustainable progress in all of our policy areas. We will implement these actions together with the sectors and a broad network of experts, working together effectively for the benefit of the climate.

More information

If you’d like to know more about the Climate & Energy Programme, email to klimaatenergie@minocw.nl.