Dutch companies emitting more CO2 for the first time in years; Record high for aviation
After seven years of sharp declines, the emissions of large Dutch companies increased in 2024. The aviation sector even broke a record - there were so many flights last year that Dutch aviation’s CO2 emissions reached the highest level ever, Trouw reports based on figures from the Dutch Emissions Authority (NEa).
Airlines have long pushed against downsizing to achieve environmental goals, arguing that they can lower emissions by using biofuels and more efficient aircraft. But these do not compensate for the increasing number of flights, according to the NEa. Aviation emissions increased by 17 percent to 3.1 million tons of CO2 last year. And that doesn’t even include all Dutch flights. “This only concerns flights within Europe,” NEa director Mark Bressers told Trouw.
In total, the 330 large companies that have to report their emissions emitted 1.8 million tons more CO2 in 2024 than in 2023. The increase follows seven years of sharp declines, with only a slight increase in 2021 after the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.
The increase in industrial companies was mainly due to Tata Steel producing more steel than a year earlier, when one of its blast furnaces was shut down for maintenance. Oil refineries emitted slightly less, and the chemical industry slightly more.
Industrial production is picking up again after two years of sharp decline due to the gas crisis. “The question is whether companies will succeed in emitting fewer greenhouse gases with higher production,” Bressers told the newspaper. “They need to innovate and use less fossil fuels.”
Strikingly, emissions from the Dutch energy sector were almost the same in 2024 as the year before. This is partly due to a period of cloudy and windless weather at the end of last year. Coal and gas-fired power stations had to produce more to compensate.
The NEA’s figures involve the Dutch companies that fall under the European Union’s emissions trading system. These companies must buy rights to emit CO2, and these rights will likely become increasingly expensive. The idea is that the price tag encourages companies to produce more sustainably.
The increase in greenhouse gas emissions put the Dutch climate targets even further out of sight. Climate Minister Sophie Hermans (VVD) will present additional climate measures along with the Spring Memorandum, the spring update to the national budget. But coalition parties PVV and BBB have already said they would oppose any additional measures.
Another setback for Hermans is that the subsidy talks with the Netherlands’ big polluters are not going well. Only five of the 15 largest emitters are on track with their agreements, the Minister recently informed parliament.
