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| A condemned and shored-up cafe in Zeerijp. Photo: Graham Dockery |
The Netherlands will stop drilling for gas under
Groningen province by 2030, prime minister Mark Rutte said on Thursday during
his weekly press conference.
Describing the decision as ‘extremely important’,
Rutte told reporters that the impact of the gas extraction – the earthquakes –
are no longer acceptable and that ‘safety has priority’.
New energy sources are
being developed, agreement with industry has been reached on phasing out gas
and measures are being taken to reduce the use of gas by private households, he
said. Exports to other countries are also being wound down.
Economic affairs
minister Erik Wiebes told reporters later that gas production will be decreased
in stages and should be under 12 billion cubic metres by October 2022 at the
latest.
The state mining inspectorate said in February that production should
be slashed to 12 billion cubic metres as quickly as possible.
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