Netherlands falling behind in breaking emissions-economic growth link

The Netherlands is falling behind internationally in breaking the link between CO2 emissions and economic growth, according to advisory office PwC in its Low Carbon Economy Index 2017, ANP reports.

For this index, the researchers looked at how much carbon dioxide a country emits to make a million dollars. In the Netherlands the so-called CO2 intensity increased by 0.1 percent. While the carbon intensity for the G20 countries - the world's 20 biggest economies - decreased by 2.6 percent on average.

The Netherlands poor score can partly be attributed to the fact that the Dutch industry is relatively polluting. The slower than expected development of wind energy in the country also played a role. 

The PwC emphasizes that the Netherlands must quickly get to work on reaching its goals set in the new government agreement and in the Paris Climate Agreement.

An analysis by the PBL this week stated that the Rutte III government's plans will result in the Netherlands only meeting half of the goals set in the Climate Paris Agreement - an international treaty aimed at limiting global warming to under 2 degrees.