Netherlands to spend $31 billion to meet 2030 climate goals
The Dutch government said on Wednesday it would spend $31 billion over the coming years to guarantee it met its climate targets for 2030.
The government announced a series of measures, saying CO2 emissions in the Netherlands would be 55% lower by 2030 than in 1990 – from building large offshore solar power fields to raising taxes for polluting industries.
Emissions in the euro zone’s fifth-largest economy last year were about 30% lower than in 1990.
Consultant John Podesta working with far-left climate activists: ‘Need to set ambitious targets’
Climate Minister Rob Jeten said, “The Netherlands has missed its climate targets for years. Now it is time to take a giant leap.”
Jeten said that with an estimated reduction of 22 megatonnes of CO2 emissions, the new measures aim to achieve a 60% reduction by 2030, so that the 55% target can actually be met.
Energy Minister of the Netherlands, Rob Jetton, speaks during a press conference on February 20, 2023 in Madrid, Spain. Jetten said the Netherlands had missed its climate targets for years. (Alberto Ortega / Europa Press via Getty Images)
The measures include a higher CO2 tax for industrial companies, and increased subsidies for older electric cars, home insulation and solar panels on homes.
It also aims to make the energy sector carbon neutral by 2035, by converting gas power stations to run on hydrogen, connecting wind farms to storage batteries and building offshore solar fields with a total capacity of 3 gigawatts.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Energy-intensive industrial companies must become carbon neutral by 2040, the government said, due to increased demand for accelerating the use of hydrogen in production processes and the use of recycled inputs, for example in the production of plastics.
The government announced a designated climate change fund two years ago that would bring in an additional $38 billion in spending over the next 10 years, with $5.5 billion earmarked to help build two new nuclear power plants.
