CBS publishes figures
Companies becoming greener, environmental quality lags behind
Statistics from Statistics Netherlands show that the Dutch economy is becoming increasingly green. For example, the production processes of companies are cleaner and they consume less raw materials. However, biodiversity and environmental quality (such as water quality) are lagging behind.
The environmental efficiency of the Dutch economy has greatly improved; almost all indicators for emissions to water and air have fallen. An example of this is the emission of particulate matter. Between 2000 and 2016, emissions fell by 41%, while the Dutch economy grew by 21%.
The decrease in particulate matter emissions took place in almost all economic sectors, only in the agricultural sector did the emissions increase (+3%). This is related to the strongly increased emissions from the poultry farms, because there are more and more free-range chickens. In the other agricultural sectors, particulate matter emissions did fall.
Renewable energy budget increased
To stimulate this growth, the government various instruments in, for example, environmental taxes, subsidies and regulations. The share of environmental subsidies was around 2005% between 2015 and 0,6. However, the budget for the subsidy scheme for renewable energy (SDE) has increased fivefold between 2011 and 2016, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands.
Revenues from taxes and levies have grown less rapidly in recent years than revenues from other taxes. There is therefore no question of further greening the tax system. The share of taxes on energy consumption (such as excise duties on motor fuels) has remained more or less the same. Within Europe, the Netherlands has a relatively high share of environmental taxes, according to Statistics Netherlands.
Kimberly Baker
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