Environment and international cooperation

In recent decades, environmental issues have become an increasingly important component of international cooperation. Among others, the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has led to widespread recognition that a sustainable environment is an important precondition for improving human well-being, from combating poverty to increasing food security. Moreover, global developments related to environmental issues have a major impact on the Netherlands, for example through global climate agreements, international trade, cross-border climate risks or migration. Vice versa, activities in the Netherlands have an impact on development elsewhere, including through the social and ecological footprint of the production and consumption of goods and through the major tasks that Dutch policy is working on (such as energy transition, making the economy circular, making agriculture more sustainable and restoring nature).