Rotterdam (Netherlands) (AFP)

They are better known for their bikes, but no other European country has as many electric car charging stations as the Netherlands, which is particularly vulnerable to global warming due to rising sea levels.

At every street corner, Tesla, Volvos and other vehicles are connected to a terminal, thanks to a network of some 75,000 charging stations, or nearly a third of the European Union total.

The installation of four charging stations at the bottom of her house in Rotterdam city center convinced Nienke Bergsma to buy an electric car, to, she says, "contribute to the protection of the environment".

Finding the right recharge rate in relation to her travels was a puzzle, but today, this 37-year-old student says she is "very happy" to have taken the plunge.

About one in five new cars is fully electric in the Netherlands, which has invested this decade on this model of sustainable transport with bonuses and tax benefits.

Because with about a third of its territory located below sea level, the country knows it is very vulnerable to global warming, which is developing even faster than feared according to a shock report this week from UN experts ( IPCC).

The government's goal is for all new cars sold from 2030 to be fully electric in the Netherlands, where road traffic is responsible for around a fifth of greenhouse gas emissions.

The country is one of the biggest polluters in Europe, mainly because of industry and agriculture, and has more cars per capita than France, Greece or Sweden.

After a historic procedure led by NGOs, The Hague was forced to commit to reducing CO2 emissions by 49% by 2030, compared to 1990.

- Short distances -

Fully loaded, Nienke Bergsma's car, a Volvo, can travel around 400 kilometers, a distance that this environmental and natural science student hardly ever covers in one go.

The short distances and the quality of the road network "encourage people to take up electric driving", observes Maarten van Biezen, co-leader of the Electric Driving Association (VER).

Last year, 20 to 21% of the 400,000 new cars sold were fully electric, he told AFP.

The Hague began "very early" to encourage this mode of transport, in 2012, well before Paris or Berlin, he analyzes.

In addition to the 75,000 public charging stations, 190,000 Dutch citizens have their own terminal at home.

Almost 30% of charging points in Europe are located in the Netherlands.

France and Germany, much larger countries, complete the top 3, both with around 20% of European terminals.

Half of the public charging stations are located in the provinces of Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam, which account for around a third of the total population.

In most provinces, the management of the terminals has been assigned to a concession, which facilitates their use: all you have to do is scan a card on one of the terminals, all of which are compatible.

- Still not enough -

In town, any user of an electric car has the right to a charging station within 200 meters of his house.

In the countryside, motorists have a terminal at home, charging 75% of them with electricity from their own solar panels.

The classic terminals allow you to "refuel" at night, or in a few hours.

The fast terminals, installed in particular on motorway rest areas, are capable of recharging in thirty minutes.

But despite everything, there are still not enough terminals in Rotterdam, estimates Nienke Bergsma, who charges his car every four nights.

Even avoiding rush hour, around 6:00 p.m., she sometimes turns around for fifteen minutes to find a free place.

His advice: never completely drain the battery, to avoid being able to "go nowhere".

The municipality has made progress by installing more terminals but this remains insufficient, estimates the student.

"Frustrated", she points to an unusable terminal blocked by a planter.

© 2021 AFP