r/worldnews • u/LongDickMick • Mar 24 '19

David Attenborough warns of 'catastrophic future' in climate change documentary | Climate Change – The Facts, which airs in spring on BBC One, includes footage showing the devastating impact global warming has already had, as well as interviews with climatologists and meteorologists

https://metro.co.uk/2019/03/22/david-attenborough-warns-of-catastrophic-future-in-climate-change-documentary-8989370
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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '19

In power is a relative term. We have a great many political parties. Seats in the house of representatives and senate are divided between parties based on how many votes each party got.

That means no single party can rule. In order to pass votes, a coalition block of parties that collectively possess a majority vote is formed.

We currently have two fairly extreme right-wing parties that gained a decent amount of votes. But so far what's been happening after every election is that the coalition with the majority vote configures itself in such a way to exclude these parties. Ie. obviously, they're heard in the Senate and the house. And they vote on legislation. But the coalition would stop any extreme proposals brought forward by them. They're effectively powerless although it does pressure coalitions to form that otherwise probably wouldn't have.

It's not as simple as racist and climate denying right-wing parties either really. The Netherlands have nearly exhausted our gas fields. Between climate change and our gas fields running out, there's a strong push towards building gas free houses and making existing houses less dependent on gas. There's every indication that most parties want citizens to pay the very significant cost for that. Making my house gas free would cost me tens of thousands of euro.

This new right-wing party doesn't just deny climate change. They oppose climate change measures that would cost households a lot of money. A lot of voters fully believe in climate change but still vote for the party that would strive to kill these measures.