When building new homes, too little account is taken of the long-term consequences of climate change. That’s in a new advisory report by Delta Commissioner Peter Glas to the Ministries of the Interior and Infrastructure and Water Management. Glass is responsible for the Delta Program to protect the Netherlands against water.
To tackle the housing shortage, about 1 million homes must be built before 2030. But it now looks like some 820,000 homes will be built in areas at risk of flooding, subsidence, heat or drought.
Glas sees this happening in the Randstad, for example. The demand for housing is greatest there, but at the same time it is a region that is vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, such as sea level rise. The Commissioner is taking into account the scenario that the sea level will have risen by two meters in 2100.
Other regions where problems are foreseen around the construction of new homes are the south of Friesland and the north-west of Overijssel, around the top of Flevoland. There the ground is weak and the risk of flooding is considerable.
Aligning construction plans to high water risk
The commissioner calls on the central government to take swift steps to take into account the risks of climate change in the construction plans, such as a higher level in the rivers. In September, the committee already brought an advice about out.
The urbanization of the Netherlands also needs to be looked at, says Glas. It must be examined whether investments can be distributed differently in the long term, for example among cities in higher areas in the east of the country.
The rules for building in areas outside the dykes must also be tightened up. These are areas that lie in front of dikes or dunes and are therefore less well protected against high water. For example, space must be made there for proper water drainage or for reinforcing flood defenses such as dams and locks.
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