Last year, CO2 emissions from Dutch large industry fell the most in fifteen years. That reports the Dutch Emissions Authority (NEa) Friday. The marked decrease is probably due to energy prices that skyrocketed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “So it remains to be seen what this means in the longer term,” says NEa CEO Mark Bressers.
The emissions of 330 large Dutch industrial and energy companies account for about half of the total CO2 emissions in the Netherlands. Their emissions fell by a total of nearly 7.6 percent to 68.5 million tons last year. Industry in particular emitted significantly less; a decrease of 8.3 percent compared to 2021. Chemical companies such as Dow Chemical, Chemelot and fertilizer producer Yara in particular have reduced their emissions, probably because they rely heavily on expensive natural gas. In 2022, Tata Steel was still the largest polluter in the Netherlands with 5.8 million tonnes, a slightly better score than the year before.
The four Dutch coal-fired power stations will have emitted almost the same amount in 2022 as the year before; 11.7 million tons. The cabinet wanted to introduce an emission ceiling for polluting generators, but decided against this because of the high gas prices.