Work Programme 2009
In this publication, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) presents the main points of its Work Programme for 2009. The programme takes account of the strategic research agendas of various government departments relevant to our remit and the themes selected for special attention by the Dutch Cabinet.
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An obvious area for investigation is the government’s policy theme ‘Scarcity and Transition’. PBL’s activities are also relevant to the following ‘pillars’ in the coalition agreement: ‘An active international and European role’; ‘An innovative, competitive and enterprising economy’; ‘A sustainable living environment’, including the work programmes ‘Clean and Efficient’ and ‘Beautiful Netherlands’; ‘Social Cohesion’; and – to a limited degree – ‘Safety’. In addition, the cabinet’s letter of May 2008 to the House of Representatives on the cross-departmental strategy for sustainable development was an important input to the selection of topics for inclusion in the Work Programme. The cabinet’s letter sets out the following themes:
- Water and adaptation to climate change
- Renewable energy
- Biofuels and development
- Carbon capture and storage
- Biodiversity, food and meat
- Sustainable building and urban development
The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency’s Work Programme focuses on acquiring knowledge that is important for informing on decisions to be made by the whole cabinet, both on national policy and on Dutch positions to be adopted in international negotiations. In bringing together scientific expertise to inform policy, PBL attaches considerable importance to maintaining and strengthening its scientific network and to cooperating with the other Dutch policy assessment agencies: the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) and the Social and Cultural Planning Office of the Netherlands (SCP). Our reports are socially relevant and designed to serve the policy process within and across government departments. We are concerned primarily with policy processes that will lead to decision-making in 2009 or 2010. Our reports will often take the form of independent assessments of policy proposals, studies of future trends or outlooks for the available options for achieving policy goals.
