Introducing: Nol van Gerven for the Provincial Council

Soon, of course, are the Provincial Council and Water Board elections. But who should you vote for? In this section, we introduce young candidates. Today it is Nol van Gerven's turn. He is standing for the Provincial Council at spot 7 on the list for GroenLinks Zuid-Holland.

Can you briefly introduce yourself? Name, hometown, age, what do you do in daily life?

My name is Nol van Gerven. I am 28 years old and live in Rotterdam. In daily life, I work as a policy officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, and am a Member of Parliament for GroenLinks

Why did you run for the Provincial Assembly?

I stood as a candidate because I would like to stay engaged in the province on the issues that are important to young people: affordable housing, good and affordable public transport and tackling the climate crisis.

What are the most important issues for you in the States?

I have actually already named those: public housing, public transport / cycling and renewable energy

What do you hope to achieve in the States?

I hope to make South Holland greener and more social on each of those issues. For instance, I would advocate for 50% social housing in new construction projects, as over half of our residents also fall in the target group for this. Good public transport should be affordable, reliable and available in every village. And the province must speed up the construction of windmills and installation of solar panels. This can be done, for instance, by calling municipalities that fail to honour agreements or delay to order.

So why are these elections so important for young people?

Because for the next four years, the province will largely determine how scarce space is allocated. The province deals with questions such as “where can houses be built, and where on the contrary do we prefer to keep it green?” and “where do we generate energy, and where on the contrary should there be space for nature?”. This will determine what our province will look like in the decades to come. And whether we will succeed in halting climate change and thus literally keeping our heads above water in our low-lying province.

Thanks Nol, for your introduction! Earlier, Tijmen Lamers was also introduced, which you read here.