NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Guido Koop, Jan de Heer and Nanne Kusters, Loyens & Loeff
Key Principles The key principles regarding climate change have been laid down in the Climate Agreement, as pub- lished by the Dutch government on 28 June 2019, and the Climate Act. The latter Act stipulates that, by 2030, the emission of GHGs must be reduced by at least 55% in comparison with the emission thereof in 1990, and that the Netherlands has 100% CO₂ neutral energy production by 2050. Furthermore, the Nether- lands strives for reduction of net emission of GHGs to zero by 2050, and negative GHG emissions after 2050. In both the Urgenda and Shell cases (see 10.4 Land- mark Cases ), claimants have taken steps to follow up on these rulings, also under threat of further litigation, to demand adherence to the respective judgments. In 2022, the Dutch government presented the new climate policy programme, which targets 60% GHG reduction by 2030 and describes the main lines of policy for the coming years, aimed at the transitions needed for climate neutrality by 2050. In view of the climate goals and the court ruling in the Urgenda case, the government wants to sharply reduce GHG emis- sions and drive the necessary transitions towards climate neutrality. The policy focuses on making five sectors more sustainable: • electricity;
agreed upon at the EU level, which will impose a so- called Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (EU CBAM) aimed at addressing the risk of carbon leakage and stimulating the reduction of GHG emissions by non-EU countries. The EU CBAM will function in par- allel with the EU ETS (mirroring it for imported goods) to ensure equivalent carbon pricing between imported goods and EU-produced goods. Under the EU CBAM, importers will have to buy and surrender a number of EU CBAM certificates corresponding to the embed- ded emission intensity of their imported products. Key Laws A key national law related to climate change is the Climate Act, as discussed above. Furthermore, the Prohibition of Coal in Electricity Production Act ( Wet verbod op kolen bij elektriciteitsproductie ) was passed at the end of 2019, which prohibits the use of coal as a fuel within electricity-generating facilities. In addi- tion, operators of a facility are obliged to implement all energy-saving measures with a return on invest- ment of up to five years. As of 1 January 2023, office buildings in the Netherlands with a ground floor area exceeding 100 square metres are required to have at least an energy label C to be (or to continue to be) used as such. 13.2 Targets to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions As indicated in 13.1 Key Policies, Principles and Laws , Dutch policy and legislation have set out the following targets to reduce GHG emissions within the Netherlands: • by 2023, at least 16% of all energy that is pro- duced within the Netherlands must derive from renewable resources; • by 2030, the emission of GHGs within the Nether- lands must be reduced by at least 55% in compari- son with the emission of GHGs within the Neth- erlands in 1990, as a prelude to a climate neutral Netherlands by 2050; and • by 2050, the Netherlands strives for net-zero emis- sions of GHGs, with negative GHG emissions in the years following 2050.
• mobility; • industry;
• the built environment; and • agriculture and land use.
The government has set a residual emission target for all sectors, which clarifies the maximum amount of emissions each sector can still emit in 2030. The government also announced an Additional Cli- mate Package ( Aanvullend klimaatpakket ) on 26 April 2023, which sets out the policies to achieve an addi- tional 22 megaton reduction in GHGs. Lastly, the EU has established a system of trading with emission allowances (EU ETS), which in the Nether- lands has been (and will continue to be) implemented in the EMA. In addition, flanking regulations have been
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