Since 2012, the Dutch government has actively helped greenhouse horticulture companies to withdraw themselves from the European ETS emissions trading system. The EU ETS is the system whereby factories and other polluting companies in Europe pay for their CO2 emissions. The idea of the ETS is to have the emission of greenhouse gasses have a cost.
Of the more than one hundred Dutch horticultural companies that originally participated in the ETS, only just fifteen remain, according to the Dutch Emissions Authority (NEa), who supervises the ETS in the Netherlands. At least until last year, growers have withdrawn, with the help of Dutch authorities.
As a result of the withdrawal, Dutch growers have paid a few tens of millions of euro (20-30 million as calculated by NRC) less ETS funds. Last year the NEa spoke of an 'organized exodus' of greenhouse horticulture from the emissions trading system. That report went unnoticed, says NRC.
These numbers are particularly interesting now according to the NRC, because the Dutch horticultural industry is not achieving the climate goals, as the newspaper states, referring to figures that will be published by Wageningen Economic Research in a few weeks.
Source: NRC