The outgoing cabinet does not intend to discourage the import of foreign woody biomass. A majority of the House of Representatives had requested this, but according to Minister Jetten, this goes against European and international trade rules.
In the two-minute Climate and Energy debate of April 14, members Teunissen and Postma submitted a motion calling on the government to discourage the import of woody biomass from abroad and not to provide new subsidies for woody biomass from abroad. During the votes on April 23, the motion was adopted by the House of Representatives.
The Teunissen-Postma motion makes a distinction between biomass (bio raw materials) from the Netherlands and from the rest of the world. The motion asks the government to discourage the latter category and not to provide new subsidies. However, this proves impractical for several reasons.
Firstly, within the internal market it is not permitted to treat products from EU countries differently than products from the Netherlands. Secondly, trade policy measures are an EU competence, which means that the Netherlands cannot decide on this independently. Third, setting rules based on origin would conflict with WTO rules.
The government has fulfilled similar wishes from the Rutte IV Coalition Agreement by further tightening the certification process for bio raw materials. No distinction is made between origin within or outside the EU; all bio raw materials must meet the same sustainability requirements.
Although the concerns surrounding sustainable use are understood, the government is actively committed to high-quality application of bio raw materials and guaranteeing sustainability. Woody bioraw materials have various applications, such as industrial steam, building materials, advanced biofuels and bioplastics. A discouragement of woody bio-raw materials would hinder the ambitions for a climate-neutral and circular society.
Due to its impracticality and policy undesirability, the Dutch government will not be able to implement the Teunissen-Postma motion.
Letter to Parliament from the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate, May 21, 2024.
