On 14 March 2025, in the afternoon, at the call of XR and Quit with Coal, an unspecified number of people gathered at the Uniper coal plant on Maasvlakte Rotterdam (Zuid-Holland), blocking traffic, to protest the environmental harm caused by fossil subsidies. The demonstration criticized their foreign ownership, imports of non-local resources, and export-driven production. The action was part of Operation Storm, involving multiple actions over three days targeting companies receiving fossil fuel subsidies.

Supply-chain Risk Briefing

1) Summary On the afternoon of March 14, 2025, environmental groups XR and Quit with Coal staged protests against fossil fuel subsidies at the Uniper coal power plant in Maasvlakte, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Protesters blocked traffic and demonstrated against foreign ownership and non-local resource imports, as part of a 3-day 'Operation Storm' targeting multiple actions against fossil fuel-related companies.

2) Supply-chain impact

• Rotterdam Port accessibility - The Maasvlakte area is a core industrial complex of Rotterdam Port, Europe's largest port, with potential for traffic-blocking protests to cause temporary delays in petrochemical and energy-related logistics
• Coal supply chain - Protests targeting the Uniper power plant raise concerns about operational disruptions in coal import and processing, with potential impact on Netherlands' power supply chain given its high dependence on overseas coal imports
• Chemical industry cluster - Maasvlakte is a major chemical industry hub, and the announced 3-day multi-site protests could cause cascading delays in raw material transport and product shipments for related companies
• Energy infrastructure - Sustained pressure from environmental protests increases medium to long-term uncertainty in fossil fuel-based energy facility operations

3) Watch points

• 3-day Operation Storm development - Need to track the scale of subsequent protests, scope of targeted companies, and cumulative impact on Rotterdam Port operations
• Government response and traffic control - Monitor how the Dutch government and port authorities manage the protests and their impact on logistics normalization speed