Growers are eager to use CO2 from the industry. This has been the case for years, but it is still not self-evident that CO2 actually reaches greenhouses. VVD MP Valstar wants the cabinet to therefore stimulate the reuse of CO2, which would help greenhouse horticulture to become more sustainable.
Valstar's motion on carbon capture and utilization (CCU) was already adopted by the Lower House in May this year. Brand new minister of agriculture Adema addressed it in a letter to the Lower House on 19 October. In the 2021 SDE++ round, 11 CCU projects were awarded a subsidy.
Together, these projects will provide 0.4 Mton of external CO2 for greenhouse horticulture. With this, the 2 Mton that was agreed in the Climate Accord has not yet been achieved, the minister knows, but he says it is "such a big step in the right direction" that additional efforts do not seem necessary at the moment, he states. The minister considers the motion closed.
With an already announced adjustment of the basic amounts for CCS (capture and storage of CO2, e.g., in the North Sea bed), the minister believes those amounts are more commensurate with those of CCU. CCU must be made more attractive if industrial parties are to choose not to put CO2 in the ground but to supply it to greenhouses. Adema expects a "beneficial effect" from the adjustment (shared with the House of Representatives in this document).