Dutch industry annually causes around €7 billion in climate and health damage: study

The environmental and health damage being caused by the Dutch industrial sector is rising annually to at least 7 billion euros, Nature & Environment have said after they researched the subject. The environmental organization analyzed the emissions of 483 companies for these results. The organization then used a calculation method of the research agency CE Delft to add a price to the costs.

Emissions of CO2, sulfur dioxide, and fine dust lead to significant damage to living areas, program leader of sustainable energy for Nature & Environment, Michelle Prins, explained. “This leads to health costs because certain substances cause diseases or can lead to premature death. But it also leads to economic costs. For example, disruption of ecosystems can reduce agricultural yields.”

Nature & Environment has signaled that 2 percent of the companies they looked into caused 75 percent of the total damage. The environmental organization pointed towards Tata Steel IJmuiden and the Shell refinery in Pernis Rotterdam.

The emissions that the companies themselves have reported in the Emission Registration lead to 1.1 billion euros and 729 million euros in damage per year respectively.

The environmental organization thinks that it is time for the government to alter the permits for these types of companies. “The emissions that companies cause are permitted within the permit process, while it causes so much damage and illness,” said Prins. “Dutch civilians are not being protected well enough right now.”

Energy companies and waste processing plants were not included in the research, even though, they too, cause these emissions.

Prins also pointed out that some substances are not included in the report, like PFAS. "The CE Delft manual has not yet been able to determine the cost of this damage for these substances."

PFAS contains dozens of chemical substances that are hardly biodegradable in the environment. They have been linked to increased chances of cancer, higher cholesterol, and reproductive problems.

Nature & Environment will hand over their report to the commission of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management on Tuesday. They will do this along with KWF Dutch Cancer Society, Lung Foundation Netherlands, MVO Nederland, Gezondheidop1, and nearby resident organizations against Tata Steel, and Chemours.