News item | 7/14/2023 | 15:03
The Dutch industry has a strong position and there are opportunities to produce cleanly in the Netherlands and to reduce the negative impact on the living environment. Companies and the government have already taken significant steps in this direction and made concrete plans. The National Sustainability Program for Industry ensures greater cohesion between these various initiatives. Today, Minister Adriaansens of Economic Affairs and Climate, also on behalf of Minister Jetten for Climate and Energy, Minister Van der Wal for Nature and Nitrogen and State Secretary Heijnen for Infrastructure and Water Management, will send the progress of the program and a roadmap for making the industry more sustainable to the Second Room.
Minister Adriaansens: “A lot needs to be done to make our industry more sustainable. There is a task for the industry, but also for the government, to create the preconditions. The program and the roadmap help with steering, what needs to be done when and tackling bottlenecks.”
Industry clusters remain crucial for sustainability
The program focuses on the implementation of existing policy, with the roadmap providing guidance for important milestones and decision moments for all parties up to 2030 and 2040. The program focuses specifically on the industry clusters in the Netherlands. The greatest sustainability gains can be achieved in these clusters, which is why investments are made in the construction and connection of energy infrastructure and sufficient green energy.
In addition, extra support is offered to energy-intensive companies (cluster 6) that emit significant CO2emissions, but are not within the regional clusters. These companies are important for the regional economy and for making the Netherlands more sustainable. These companies often already have concrete plans, but lack the right preconditions to realize them. The program collaborates with provinces and network operators to ensure that these companies are actually enabled to implement them with concrete sustainability plans.
Progress made-to-measure approach: 7 declarations of intent
An important part of the National Sustainability Program for Industry is the tailor-made approach that challenges the 20 largest industrial emitters to make plans to reduce CO2 more quickly and significantly.2 emissions and also contribute to a healthy and safe living environment. This week the cabinet signed two declarations of intent (Expression of Principles). In a letter of intent, companies and the government express the plans and conditions for sustainability.
Subsequently, these plans must be worked out concretely and in detail in order to arrive at tailor-made agreements. The international chemical company Yara has the ambition to reduce CO by 1.5 megatons by 20302 emissions, which is an additional reduction of 0.3 megatons on top of the Climate Agreement. The Dutch chemical company Anqore has made plans for a reduction of 0.4 megatonnes in 2030, twice as much as the company must meet under the Climate Agreement. A total of seven letters of intent have now been signed.
Talks have now been held with the industrial companies involved about the possibilities of reducing their emissions more quickly through tailor-made solutions. In order to keep progress in the tailor-made approach, the government wants to have clarity before 2024 about the ambitions of the companies and to have signed a letter of intent with the companies that can and want to become more sustainable.