Because of the long formation, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) is concerned about the feasibility of climate and energy policy. In order to achieve the climate goals for 2030, more efforts are needed anyway and the slow formation of a new cabinet could put those goals even more at risk. In addition, the advisory body warns of the risk that too little (or very expensive) natural gas will be available if a severe winter unexpectedly occurs in the coming months.
The country is already working hard on preparing for the energy transition, says Pieter Boot of PBL. However, important decisions still need to be made. Because a lot still needs to be done to achieve the 2030 climate goals. This is already not possible with the current policy, and then the European Union is also doing it a scoop on top.
“The main problem is at power grids“, says Boot. “It takes a very long time to build a high-voltage power line. And much more power is needed to achieve the goals in eight years. If those cables are not there soon, then that will not work. Decisions have to be made about that.”
Full speed ahead
Not only must it be determined quickly where and which extra infrastructure is needed for the energy sector, the PBL also points out that the Netherlands does not take enough account of what Brussels is doing. Europe is moving forward at full speed with climate policy, and does not care about the Dutch political situation, says Boot. But at some point it will also have to be decided here whether more should be done with houses or in industry or in agriculture, or with all of them.
More importantly, the Netherlands must then also implement those decisions, while they are still on top of the current targets. According to Boot, it is not the case that the current caretaker cabinet is not doing anything. Next week the cabinet will come with a lot of money on Prinsjesdag to try to Urgenda objective to get. But a new cabinet has to get to work with the really big changes.
Companies are currently making plenty of plans for the future, and they want to know where they stand, says Boot. And municipalities that are busy with plans for a new future heat supply must be better equipped for its implementation.
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