The new Budget Memorandum for the coming year was published on Budget Day. The cabinet has big plans and wants to give all citizens a little extra, as cabinets often do in their last year of government. But what does the climate look like? We outline the plans.
In the Speech from the Throne, King Willem-Alexander explicitly mentioned the climate. Climate change is no less urgent because of the coronavirus, he said. And the proposed Growth Fund, announced last week, will help us become more sustainable. “The unique scale and duration of the National Growth Fund make it possible to hand over the Netherlands to today's young people in a more prosperous, cleaner and more sustainable way,” said the King.
Yet the Budget Memorandum, which shows what the government will spend its money on next year, contains little explicit information about the climate. The word sustainability is only mentioned a few times, and proposed measures are not yet concrete, or did not already exist. The government is fully committed to the Growth Fund as a driver of sustainability in all sectors.
CO2 emissions
CO2 emissions must be reduced. Partly due to the Urgenda case, the cabinet was previously forced to make additional investments to reduce emissions. Electricity production from coal-fired power stations also had to be reduced as quickly as possible. The memorandum also mentions the ambitions regarding the circular economy: these would contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions. Finally, there is the subsidy for electric cars, which started this year.
In terms of new plans, the previously leaked ones are listed CO2 tax for the industry in the memorandum. Electricity companies must also pay a minimum CO2 price. From the memorandum: “The government believes it is more logical to levy taxes on what we as a society do not want than on what we do want, and to price negative side effects. In this way, the government encourages consumers and companies to take environmental pollution more into account in their choices.”
Also read: Urgenda case ruling: State must reduce emissions before the end of 2020
No additional investments
Additional CO2 measures are required to meet the Urgenda requirement. “The majority of the costs of the additional measures will be covered by using the available space in the sustainable energy budget reserve,” the memorandum says. So no new investments are needed.
Next year, the government expects to spend less on 'climate resources' than in 2020. Most of the money will go to making the energy supply more sustainable, in the broadest sense. The SDE scheme, for example, falls under this cost item. A much smaller part is for making other matters such as mobility and agriculture more sustainable. After 2021, expenditure on energy supply will grow again (well above 4 billion euros), but investments for other forms of climate friendliness will continue to decline.
Nitrogen
To tackle the pressing nitrogen issue, almost 2021 million euros will be ready in 800. The largest part goes to 'source control'; this could mean buying out farmers or investing in measures that reduce nitrogen. The rest is for a nature package that should strengthen nature in sensitive areas.
Also read: Five questions about the nitrogen problem
Flight tax
Aviation is one of the largest polluters, and the Netherlands, with Schiphol, is an important hub in this sector. The government wants to introduce a flight tax from January 1. The million dollar bill does not say how high it will be. The memorandum says nothing about Lelystad Airport, which is scheduled to open in November 2021 – another cabinet will also be in power by then.
Growth fund
In the Budget Memorandum, the government refers several times to the 20 billion Growth Fund, which Ministers Wiebes and Hoekstra presented last week. This fund must also provide solutions for the climate. Polluting sectors such as agriculture and industry must become more sustainable, more innovative and therefore future-proof with the available fund. However, the innovations must come from the business community; the cabinet will not set any requirements, except for the industry tax. Agriculture will not have to pay a CO2 tax for the time being, even though it makes a significant contribution to the Dutch footprint.
Read more about the Growth Fund
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