Before his political career, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Wopke Hoekstra) worked at oil giant Shell.
The appointment of Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra as EU Climate Commissioner has caused confusion, given his limited experience in green policy and his work for Shell.
On Tuesday (29 August), EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (Ursula von der Leyen) officially announced the appointment of W. Hoekstra as EU Climate Commissioner, noting that his government experience would be a “great asset,” particularly for European diplomacy as preparations begin for COP28 and climate change financing.
The Dutch Foreign Minister is likely to face a difficult hearing procedure in the European Parliament, where left-leaning MEPs have already expressed doubts about his ability to fulfil EU commitments on climate change issues.
Wopke Hoekstra, a member of the Dutch Christian Democratic party, has been nominated to take over the climate policy portfolio previously held by socialist and democrat (S&D) Frans Timmermans, who left Brussels to run for the position of Dutch Prime Minister. His functions will be overseen by EU Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič.
Previously, a negative assessment by the EU Parliament of commissioner candidates has led some candidates to withdraw from the position.
“This is not a closed matter yet,” said Pascal Canfin, Chair of the Parliament's Committee on the Environment, in response to the news.
Last week, the S&D group argued that the climate portfolio should remain in socialist hands, given the track record of right-wing parties on climate issues, which many criticised for attempts to weaken and delay, for example, the adoption of such important environmental legislation as the Nature Restoration Law.
“To resist the attempts of conservatives and the far-right to weaken climate policy, we need a strong supporter of the European Green Deal, not a rearguard coalition representative,” said French MEP Manon Aubry (Manon Aubry), co-chair of the Left group. Climate advocacy groups have also expressed concerns about whether W. Hoekstra is the right candidate to replace F. Timmermans.
“In a climate emergency, we need a leader with a convincing track record and solid credentials to lead this critically important area,” said Chiara Martinelli (Chiara Martinelli), Director of the Brussels-based NGO CAN Europe.
Earlier this year, the Dutch government faced criticism when a parliamentary inquiry revealed that natural gas extraction in the northern part of the country had caused a series of earthquakes in the Groningen region.
In the Netherlands, a campaign against Wopke Hoekstra's candidacy has been signed by more than 20,000 people. In 2020, the then Dutch Finance Minister became widely known in Brussels circles due to his controversial remarks regarding the debt crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
W. Hoekstra's disdain for Southern Europe was the reason for the deepening of a long-standing diplomatic rift between the north and south of Europe, prompting Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa to call W. Hoekstra's comments “repulsive”.
Before his political career, W. Hoekstra worked at the consultancy firm McKinsey (2006-2013) and as a corporate employee at the oil conglomerate Shell (2002-2004).