In the Netherlands, environmental activists from Extinction Rebellion close the highway leading to The Hague in protest against fossil fuel subsidies

Massive mobilization. Activists from the environmental organization Extinction Rebellion spectacularly blocked a major highway through The Hague on Saturday, September 14, to protest against billions of euros in Dutch subsidies for fossil fuels.

The protest coincided with a police strike over pensions and while officers were present in case of emergency, they did not intervene. Many activists had organised a week-long march from Arnhem in the east of the Netherlands, which culminated in the action on the A12 motorway leading to The Hague.

Extinction Rebellion said some protesters planned to take advantage of the police absence to camp overnight in motorway tunnels.“We will come back until the subsidies are removed,” said the movement’s spokeswoman Rozemarijn van ‘t Einde, adding that these amounted to between 39.7 and 46.4 billion euros per year.

Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of closing large sections of the motorway to ensure the safety of activists. Extinction Rebellion regularly targets the A12 motorway and police often arrest hundreds of protesters.

According to the group, the blockade launched on Saturday is the most important “since the first blockade of July 6, 2022, but the seriousness of the climate and ecological crisis justifies such nuisances.”