ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the relationship between the development of domestic climate policy in the Netherlands on the one hand and the Dutch efforts in this fi eld in the European and international arena on the other. To what extent has the Netherlands lived up to its reputation as an environmental ‘pioneer’ and in fact to its declared ambition to act as an international leader in this particular area? As the chapter will show, the implementation of domestic climate targets has been far from unproblematic. How could this be matched with the international ambitions of the Dutch? What consequences did the apparent gap between the two have, both for articulating the intended international role and for domestic policy practice? In order to answer these questions, we will fi rst sketch the national context of Dutch climate policy, followed by an analysis of the evolution of the policy fi eld, paying attention both to domestic policies and to the Dutch role in European and global climate negotiations. A separate section focuses on the key policy instruments of Dutch climate policy. After that, the issue of Dutch leadership is addressed by linking the Dutch ambitions, efforts and achievements at the domestic and the European/international level. A few concluding observations serve to wind up the chapter.
