Let me start right away with what I want to achieve today. The industry is in dire straits, and I think we need to take two steps now that send a clear signal to the Dutch industry.
- Abolishing the national CO2 levy.
- A Catshuis meeting with a strong delegation from the industry and the cabinet.
We shouldnt wait for the Spring Memorandum or even later. A signal and first step are needed now. Why does the CDA propose this? The industry in the Netherlands is struggling because the playing field in Europe is not level. As a result, the Netherlands competes not only with the world but also with other member states. The electricity costs of a large consumer in the Netherlands are three times higher than in France and twice as high as in Germany. Its impossible to compete with that. The culprits: higher energy taxes, higher network costs, no IKC, and the national CO2 levy.
The tailored agreements with the industry are slow or stalled. Companies are postponing investments, and new investments are no longer being made. Both are virtually at a standstill. In preparation for this debate, we, as CDA, have created an overview of various projects that are now delayed or stalled. In the industrial cluster around the port in Rotterdam alone, nearly 80 (!) sustainability projects are expected to be postponed.
So its no longer just about existing, polluting industry. Even new green industries can or will no longer establish themselves in the Netherlands.
Ill pick one example, but I have more.
In the port of Rotterdam, work is underway on developing a hub for the production, storage, and distribution of sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF). This sustainable fuel results in 90% less CO2 emissions than fossil kerosene. In total, this project involves an investment of more than 1.5 billion euros. But due to grid congestion, a lack of nitrogen space, and uncertainty about infrastructure connection, it is very questionable whether this investment will go through.
The industry is in dire straits, and if we continue like this, our industrial clusters will become deathbed constructions. That will cost us prosperity and jobs. The cabinet has no choice but to level the playing field much more with the industrial countries around us: Germany, Belgium, and France. This concretely means that the net tariffs must go down, the IKC must return, and the national CO2 levy must be abolished.
The ministers reaction will then be: but then I wont achieve the climate goals. But, chairman, it can never be the intention to achieve the climate goals by making the industry disappear. That would be unforgivably unwise. Green industrial policy means: helping the industry make the sustainability transition and attracting new green companies. We must continue on that course.
The national CO2 levy does not do what the cabinet once envisioned, is a copy of European policy, and in addition, the conditions that applied when the CO2 levy was introduced have not been adequately fulfilled. Therefore, as a first step, we must send this signal and abolish the CO2 levy.
In addition, the urgency must be made clear across the cabinet. Therefore, the CDA proposes organizing a Catshuis meeting where the industry and the cabinet discuss how to tackle the crisis in the industry and boost sustainability.