Letter to Ursula von der Leyen on the nomination of Wopke Hoekstra as Climate Commissioner

The Green 10, of which HEAL is part of, has written a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to express their concern about the nomination of the Dutch Designate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra as Climate Commissioner:

“We are highly sceptical that Wopke Hoekstra possesses the required credentials and expertise to lead on this critical portfolio, which includes a number of upcoming critical processes. Our concerns
are based on:
 his lack of expertise on EU climate policy,
 his lack of experience of climate diplomacy at UNFCCC level,
 his record of both having worked in the private sector for Shell, a multinational oil and gas company,
 his performance in public roles. This last includes providing 3.4 billion EUR in support to the aviation company KLM during the COVID19 crisis as Dutch Minister of Finance and as a leader of the CDA party,
and abandoning government objectives to reduce nitrogen emissions to bring them in line with EU obligations.”

Read the full letter here