17 Oct 2024
Oh, poor Netherlands, it seems like shutting down a gas field that was literally causing earthquakes has finally caught up with them. Who could’ve seen this coming? Groningen, the gas field operated by the environmental saints at Shell and ExxonMobil (under the cutesy name NAM, because nothing says trust us like an acronym), was pumping gas and shaking houses for 60 years. But when the earthquakes got too hard to ignore, the Dutch government dared to prioritize people’s safety over profits. The nerve, right?
Now, the productivity police at CBS are wringing their hands because Dutch productivity has fallen like a rock from fifth to tenth place in the OECD rankings. Why, you ask? Well, shutting down the Groningen gas field took a 0.3% chunk out of the Netherlands’ growth between 2013 and 2019. Because, apparently, not blowing up your country’s foundations in the name of fossil fuel profits has a cost.
But let’s get one thing straight: this wasn’t some minor tremor. People’s homes were literally crumbling, and health problems were on the rise, but Shell and Exxon just kept on drilling until the government finally had enough. “The risk of earthquakes was too high,” says the CBS, as if that needed explaining. You’d think that after shelling out (no pun intended) for decades of environmental damage, maybe Shell and Exxon’s shareholders—hey BlackRock, are you listening?—would be okay with, you know, not wrecking a country. But no, we must mourn the dip in GDP per hour worked!
What’s more, CBS wants us to know that this productivity slump is a “unique effect of Dutch political decisions.” Translation: How dare the Netherlands prioritize its people over oil profits? Didn’t they get the memo from the US and UK, where minerals apparently still make economies hum and nobody minds the odd environmental catastrophe?
Let’s not forget that in its heyday, Groningen was a cash cow for Shell, fueling profits while fueling the Dutch economy. And now, with the gas taps turned off, productivity has slowed in “key sectors” like industry and transport. Shocker. But at least the earth beneath people’s feet is a little more stable now.
Yet, CBS still finds a silver lining: since 2020, productivity is back on the rise, though not quite as fast as in the US and UK. Gee, I wonder if that’s because other countries haven’t had to shut down massive fossil fuel operations after realizing they were turning their towns into disaster zones. But hey, let’s pat the Netherlands on the back for growing at a modest 0.9% a year. What a relief.
So, to recap: Shell and Exxon milked Groningen for decades, left a trail of destruction, and now the Netherlands is being scolded for choosing not to be literally shaken to death by their greed. Classic.
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