By the end of this government's term in 2021, the energy bill for Dutch households will be on average 175 euros more expensive than this year, Minister Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs and Climate said in a parliamentary debate on Thursday. Next year, households can expect an average energy bill increase of 45 euros, NU.nl reports.
Wiebes emphasized that this is an estimate, but if there is no change in policy, households can take these increases into account.
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.
From September 1st homeowners in Amsterdam can apply for a subsidy to remove their home from the gas connection. The Dutch capital aims to be gas-free by 2050 in order to drastically reduce CO2 emissions in the city. That means that 350 thousand homes must move from natural gas to sustainable heating and electric cooking, Het Parool reports.
The Port of Rotterdam is taking its first steps in going green. On Thursday Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port, is meeting with almost everyone involved in the port on the ss Rotterdam to present two ambitious options for the port's energy transition, NRC reports.
The best way to deal with Dutch coal-fire power plants is not closing them, but making them more sustainable, according to a yet to be published study by Frontier Economics, which the Financieele Dagblad got its hands on.
According to the study, the CO2 emissions from the coal plants can be stored in old gas fields. And biomass can be burned in the plants. That solution is relatively cheap and saves a lot on greenhouse gasses.
Dutch banks still generally fall seriously short when it comes to climate policy and that sets the organizations behind, according to a new report published by the Fair Bank Guide on Wednesday, ANP reports.
Only SNS, ASN and Triodos scored well on their climate policy. Aegon, ING, ABN Amro, Rabobank, Delta Lloyd and Van Lanschot all scored an insufficient. According to the researchers, most Dutch banks don't require oil companies to prevent drilling in the fragile Arctic. They also don't publish measurable CO2 reduction targets for the companies in which the invest.
The government wants the Netherlands to be nearly CO2 emissions free by 2050, according to Economic Minister Henk Kamp's Energy Agenda. The Agenda contains a number of measures to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and encourage sustainable living. Environmental organizations call the plan unambitious, NU.nl reports.
A group of 40 large Ducth companies called on the next Dutch government to to lay long-term goals of the Climate Agreement down in law. This is the only way to curb global warming, the companies wrote in a letter in the Volkskrant on Wednesday.
Nearly half of diesel cars were found to be using software that manipulated the emissions so they would be granted environmental certification, new research by the Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW) shows. The evidence could trigger massive automotive recalls across the country.
The RDW tested 30 different models, of which 16 were using software that potentially causes fraudulent results, broadcaster NOS reported on Friday.
Greenpeace wants energy from coal power plants to be banned from the Netherlands grid, director Sylvia Borren of Greenpeace Nederland said in an interview with Dutch newspaper Trouw. According to her, banning coal power will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help hit the targets in the Urgenda ruling and the climate agreement signed in Paris.
Closing all coal plants in the Netherlands by 2020 will cost 7 billion euros, according to a report commissioned by Minister Henk Kamp of Economic Affairs. The report also concludes that doing so will reduce CO2 emissions in the country by 31 percent and would not put energy supply in danger
Solar panels may soon be installed on the rooftops of 19 above-ground subway stations in Amsterdam. The goal is to save on energy and reduce the subway's CO2 emissions
The Netherlands should be more ambitious in combating climate change. The country should push harder for greenhouse gas reductions and promoting sustainable, clean technology at the Paris climate summit.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte called on people and businesses to play a bigger role in the fight against climate change at the climate summit in Paris on Monday. Greenpeace Nederland feels that these "pretty, but empty" words don't mean much until the Dutch government implements concrete plans to close the coal plants in the country.
A total of 110 Dutch companies, non government organizations and governments are taking concrete measures to cut their CO2 emissions in half by 2020, environmental organization Natuur & Milieu announced on Wednesday.
A majority in the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament, wants the cabinet to gradually close all he coal power plants in the Netherlands.
GroenLinks and the PvdA are working together on a legislative proposal which states that the Netherlands' CO2 emissions has to be at least 95 percent less in 2050, compared to 1990. And the energy supply must be fully sustainable by then.
The Dutch care and welfare pension fund PFZW wants to halve the climate footprint of its investments by 2020. To do so the fund will be investing less in companies with high greenhouse gas emissions, and more in companies that contribute in solving the climate problem.
The CO2 emissions in the Netherlands are rising faster than the economic growth - in the third quarter emissions increased 6.8 percent compared to the same quarter last year. The economy grew with only 1.9 percent.
The government will be appealing against the court ruling that stated that they should be doing more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but is willing to take additional environmental measures to achieve this.
Over the past five months coal consumption in the Netherlands has been nearly a third higher than in the past three years, despite attempts to reduce green house gas emissions in the country. Coal combustion produces almost twice as much greenhouse gas as gas-fired power plants.
The PvdA is considering submitting a proposal the reduce the maximum speed limit of 130 kilometers per hour on highways in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions.
The Netherlands can be a major contributor to solving the climate problem if all the coal plants in the Netherlands close down.
The court in The Hague ruled that the Dutch government has to reduce gas emissions by at least 25 percent by 2020 compared to the level in 1990.
