The necessary transition towards sustainability in energy-intensive industries - which are responsible for nearly a quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands - is under current policies not taking off at the speed that is required to be climate neutral by 2050. Energy-intensive industry includes oil refineries, basic metal industry, basic chemical industry, and the fertilizer industry. They use large amounts of oil, coal, and gas as raw materials and energy sources. Making these sectors more sustainable is an important step in the pursuit of climate neutrality by 2050 and broader societal well being beyond GDP for the Netherlands. However, several recent developments are slowing down the pace of the transition.

Fundamental redesign

The transition to a future-proof industry requires a fundamental redesign of our industrial production and consumption. Industry cannot take radical measures as long as there is no adequate business model for green production. Current climate policy for industry is mainly focused on improving efficiency and reducing emissions from current energy-intensive production units in the shorter term. The industrial transition requires not only different processes and technologies, but drastic change of the entire system.

Recommendations

In the advisory report, the WKR has for mulated 5 principles for designing green industrial policies. Based on these principles, the Netherlands Scientific Climate Council has made eight recommendations:

  1. Determine as soon as possible which industrial sectors are compatible with a climate-neutral, climate-resilient, safe, and competitive Netherlands and implement a consistent policy accordingly
  2. Consider the transformation to a sustainable indus try as a broad societal challenge
  3. Shape the industrial transformation in area visions for new and existing sustainable industrial clusters, and make these visions the guiding principle for decisions about new infrastructure
  4. Cover the risks associated with investments in infrastructure for energy and materials publicly
  5. Commit to maintaining at least the current ETS reduction path to zero new emission allowances after 2040 and earmark the proceeds for decarbo nising the sector through a sustainable industry fund
  6. Design the tax base for energy-intensive industry in such a way that climate costs are priced in
  7. Stimulate demand creation for CO2-neutral materials through regulation by introducing a blending obligation and setting product requirements
  8. Create a sustainable industry fund that helps new companies and the transformative conversion of existing companies with subsidies, loans, or participation

Commission

  • prof. dr. H.L.F. (Henri) de Groot (lead)

  • Prof. Dr. H.C. (Heleen) de Coninck