Dutch Cabinet Presents `Climate Accord´

After 2 years of societal discussion the Dutch `Climate Accord´ (Klimaatakkoord), which had been released by the end of 2018, has been accepted by the Dutch government. The key point of the plan is the aim to reduce Co2 emissions to almost zero by 2050, compared to 1990 levels. The `Climate Accord´consist of hundreds of measures. The 3 most important ones will be outlined in this post. The final document can be found here (Dutch language version only).


1) Fuel and Transport
The plans will make gas more expensive and electricity cheaper to steer the Netherlands away from gas. The taxes on gas shall rise by 10 cent per cubicmetre until 2026 and taxes on electricity shall fall by 5 cent per kWh. This measure is taken against the background of the closure of the Groningen gas field in the coming years. The cabinet also wishes to increase levies on diesel by 2 cents until 2023. The additional revenues shall be used to stimulate the use of electric vehicles. Moreover, more money shall be spend to enlarge the bike racks at train stations and the renewal of bicycle lanes.

2) Co2
The `Climate Accord´ features a C02 tax. For every ton of CO2 that companies put into the air, beyond a certain allowance, 30 euros have to be paid. The amount shall increase to 150 euros by 2030. Moreover, the government aims to role out Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) in the whole of the Netherlands. The technology shall be able to permanently store Co2 underground. In addition, a fonds with an initial amount of 22 million euros shall be created to facilitate the phasing out of coal in the Netherlands (by 2020 all coal fired power plants in the Netherlands must stop producing or change their way of electricity production).

3) Agricultural Sector and House Insulation
The agricultural sector will receive 1 billion euros on top of existing subsidies to become more sustainable. Moreover, 100 million euros  will be made available every year to improve the insulation of houses and increase their energy efficiency.

Criticism
While critics point to the fact that the Dutch government was not able to meet other previous goals and that an official, independent verification procedure of all the measures in the accord showed that they are not sufficient to meet the 2050 target, the cabinet insists that they are feasible and affordable. What is also of interest are things that are not in the accord. While one and a half year ago the idea was to give part-ownership in renewable energy projects (50% ownership) to locals living next to  energy facilities, to avoid NIMBYism, this measure has now been watered down significantly. It shall only apply to renewable energy installations producing electricity and mainly in the context of sun and windpower, leaving aside geothermal energy projects and other forms of renewable energy production. This is problematic given that geothermal energy production is particulalry controversial with many local residents.

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