The cabinet should consider levying a special tax on meat and dairy products. For example, consumers should be tempted to eat more plant-based products. That is one of the recommendations of a special climate committee.
The committee was set up by the cabinet last year to make recommendations about what extras need to be done to achieve the climate targets that the cabinet has set itself. It has been agreed that CO2 emissions will be reduced by at least 55 percent by 2030, the target is 60 percent. Our country must be completely ‘climate neutral’ by 2050.
Everything necessary has been agreed in the coalition agreement to achieve these goals, but the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency has already concluded that this is not enough. It was unclear how much more had to be done. This committee, chaired by AFM Executive Board Chairman Laura van Geest, had to clarify this.
Purchase tax
According to Van Geest, ‘painful choices’ have to be made. In the coming years, 22 megatons of CO2 less must be emitted on top of all existing plans. By way of comparison: that is approximately even more than was emitted by all homes when burning gas in 2020. The committee proposes to distribute the pain across the various sectors in society. For example, she advises to make factories pay more for the CO2 they emit and to cut the livestock further.
But the behavior of citizens must also be changed, the committee believes. Eating meat and dairy should be discouraged. Greenhouse horticulture must be ‘priced’, which may make greenhouse vegetables more expensive. And those who drive a petrol car also have to pay more, so that it becomes more attractive to switch to an electric car. For example, the committee recommends increasing the purchase tax and increasing the fare for petrol cars when road pricing is proposed.
Sharp choices
The proposals in the report ‘increase the costs for citizens and businesses and require adjustments’, states the committee. With the extra taxes levied, the ‘negative consequences’ for vulnerable groups in society could be ‘mitigated’.
According to Van Geest, ‘sharp choices’ must be made, whereby attention must be paid to ‘practicability and justice’. But, she writes, the Netherlands will look ‘radically different’ in a few years’ time. “The Dutch footprint is too large, whether it concerns production or consumption.” According to her, we can no longer benefit from fossil fuels. Because the Netherlands is a ‘low-lying delta’, she believes there is a great need to combat climate change.
Minister Rob Jetten (Climate and Energy) says in an initial response that ‘extra steps’ must be taken. He calls tackling climate change ‘extremely urgent’. “Choices we make in the coming years will determine whether we pass on a polluted or a clean planet to future generations.” The cabinet will examine the report in the coming weeks. At the end of May, a decision must be made on how the cabinet wants to reduce the extra CO2 emissions. The question is whether it will adopt all the committee’s proposals. A meat and dairy tax is extremely sensitive for government parties VVD and CDA.
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