Hold the cheese: Dutch Cabinet advised to increase taxes on these products

Kaas lovers, it’s time to stock up! To meet the cabinet’s climate goals, the Dutch government will have to introduce some “far reaching policies” — which will affect the cost of our beloved Dutch cheese.

To reduce CO2 emissions by 60% by 2030, Minister of Climate and Energy Rob Jetten has ordered a committee to draw up a plan. As NU.nl writes, they have have come up with a set of measures.

Helemaal not on track to reach climate goals

As calculations from the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) have shown, the Dutch government is not on track to meet its climate goals for 2030. AT. ALL.

READ MORE | How do the Dutch feel about climate change?

Based on current policies, rather than the 60% that they are aimed for, the Netherlands’ emission reduction would only reach around 41%-52% by 2030. Oeps! 👀

Proposed measures

The solution? New policies! (And some of them are quite harsh.)

Here are some of the most important ones:

Limiting the number of cows that can be kept per hectare, which should result in 30% fewer dairy cattle by 2023. 🐄
The introduction of a tax on meat and dairy products, and a requirement for supermarket and fast food chains to offer plant-based alternatives.
A significantly higher tax on natural gas, accompanied by a lower tax on electricity. This is meant to stimulate the switch to electric heat pumps.
A ban on fuel-driven cars for business use by 2025. 🚗💨
An overall increase of the use of biofuels in road traffic.
A much higher CO2 tax for industry, which far exceeds the current EU CO2 price.
A higher tax on flights that exceed a distance of 2,500 kilometres.

The government’s ambitious strategies will not just lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions. These will also result in billions of additional costs for the energy system and an additional €3.5 billion in tax revenues — all to be used to tackle the climate goals.

But the worst part? Even if these measures are implemented, it’s not certain that that the target of a 60% CO2 reduction will be met by 2030. 😬

Climate neutral by 2050

The ultimate goal for the Netherlands is to be climate neutral by 2050. 🌱

This means that all the sectors affected by the proposed measures will have to work even harder in the years after 2030 — especially if goals aren’t met.

So really, any delay now simply means a steeper reduction path for later, the committee writes.

Measures will affect everyone’s lives

Minister Jetten wants to use the advice given by the committee in his report for the so-called “spring memorandum,” where the State’s finances are discussed. 💰

While he cannot anticipate the decisions that the government will make, Jetten recognises that the measures will affect citizens’ lives.

To ensure that everyone can help in reaching the climate goals, he hopes that government grants can help households and small businesses in the transition.

What do you think about these proposed climate measures? Tell us in the comments!