The Netherlands is currently organising two climate conferences, foreign minister Bert Koenders announced on the opening day of the ‘Glacier’ environmental meeting in Alaska on Tuesday.

The first will take place in The Hague in November and the second is being planned for May next year.

‘Our planet’s climate is changing fast and this will have an impact on our safety,’ Koenders said. ‘Think about the streams of refugees which will be created by drought or forest fires.’

The May conference will be attended by some 1,500 academics, scientists, policy makers and companies who will discuss how to implement the decisions taken at this November’s COP21 conference in Paris.

Koenders also said he hoped companies such as Shell would support the US government’s initiative to reduce the amount of methane gas. ‘Methane is one of the main causes of climate change,’ he said. ‘I think we should appeal to companies like Shell to stand by their principles.’

‘If you listen to the stories of the Inuit and people who live here, then you realise we are already too late,’ broadcaster Nos quoted Koenders as saying.