Environment/sustainability

Supermarkets warn that collecting dairy bottles under a deposit scheme could create hygiene risks, as leaking packaging may attract vermin. The government is considering extending deposits to dairy and juice bottles, and Verpact will present a separate collection plan later this year.

The Netherlands drew more of its oil and gas from the United States in 2025, with nearly a quarter of its supplies coming from there. The shift follows a steep drop in Russian imports after the invasion of Ukraine. CBS figures show that both the Netherlands and the EU have turned to countries such as Norway and the US to secure their energy needs.

A study by the World Weather Attribution group and the KNMI concludes that Europe's current heatwave is "unmistakably" driven by climate change, making today's extreme temperatures virtually impossible fifty years ago. Researchers found that a similar weather pattern in 1976 would have been about 3.5°C cooler, while the current stifling nights are now over a hundred times more likely than during the major 2003 heatwave due to fossil fuel emissions. With nearly half of 854 monitored European cities hitting their highest-ever heat stress levels, Red Cross and climate experts warn of a dangerous gap between rapid global warming and infrastructure that simply wasn't built to withstand it.

The Dutch government has introduced emergency legislation requiring the industry and transport sectors to halve their nitrogen emissions by 2035 compared to 2019 levels, backed by a €250 million funding package. The one-off investment splits €125 million toward curbing pollution in shipping, road traffic, and construction through measures like electrification, with the other €125 million targeting industrial plants near vulnerable nature reserves. Relying on existing frameworks like the European CO2 emissions trading system to help drive down nitrogen oxides and ammonia, the Cabinet warned that additional regulatory measures will be enforced if these sectors—alongside agriculture, which faces a separate 42% to 46% reduction target—fail to meet the benchmarks.

The KNMI has issued a yellow weather warning for Saturday evening as severe thunderstorms are forecast to sweep across the entire Netherlands, bringing a turbulent end to a record-breaking heatwave. The weather institute warns of localized damage and disruption from torrential downpours, large hailstones up to five centimetres in size, and destructive wind gusts reaching up to 100 kilometres per hour. The sudden shift in weather follows an amber alert for extreme heat, which saw Friday officially recorded as the hottest 26 June in Dutch history.

Dutch grid operators and energy suppliers are teaming up to pay households to reduce their electricity use during peak hours in an effort to ease severe congestion on the country's overloaded power grid. By using smart technology to automatically manage high-energy devices—such as delaying electric car charging or drawing power from home batteries during the busy winter window of 4pm to 9pm—the scheme aims to prevent regional blackouts and waiting lists for new connections. Following a successful pilot, the initiative is now rolling out to hundreds of thousands of homes across provinces like Utrecht and Gelderland, with the goal of freeing up enough flexible capacity to power an entire city the size of Haarlem.

Shallow groundwater is more widely contaminated than previously understood, according to new research by Vitens. Hundreds of substances, including some long banned, were detected in protection areas. The findings highlight the need to prevent pollution at its source.

Dutch supermarkets and parcel services have implemented safety protocols to support delivery staff during an impending regional heatwave. Companies like DHL, PostNL, and Jumbo are adjusting shift patterns, shortening routes, and offering flexible hours to keep workers out of the sun during peak hours. With a code orange warning active across central and southern regions, employers are also distributing extra water, sunscreen, and ice lollies to combat dangerous working conditions.