Last week, a group of concerned young people, supported by Advocates for the Future, handed over an urgent letter to the board of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. In the letter, which was co-signed by more than 40 social organizations, the young people express their concerns about the climate crisis.

Why, you might think? Why do young people go to a relatively boring port authority to express their concerns about the climate, when they can also knock on the doors of Shell, BP or ExxonMobil?

The reason is simple: the port of Rotterdam is the center of the fossil industry in the Netherlands and an essential link in the international fossil supply routes. Fossil fuels enter the port of Rotterdam by ship and then find their way to Northwest Europe. Due to its central position in the system, fossil fuel companies have built their activities around the port, such as refineries, tank storage, petrochemical industry, etc. In this way, the port of Rotterdam facilitates enormous greenhouse gas emissions and contributes significantly to the climate crisis.

With their letter, the young people ask for attention for the role of the port of Rotterdam in the climate crisis. They call on the Port of Rotterdam Authority, a subsidiary of the municipality of Rotterdam and the national government, to take control of the port. To come up with a plan for a non-fossil port, where green, sustainable initiatives can develop and space is created for the port of the future.

The port of Rotterdam has always been a pioneer in many ways. The appeal to the board of the Port of Rotterdam Authority touches on this history and decisiveness: be a pioneer again now. For the climate, for employment in the port, for young people and future generations. Because when the port of Rotterdam moves, the world moves with it.

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