Citizens and SMEs pay too much energy tax in relation to the climate damage they cause. Heavy industry and aviation and shipping pay too little, concludes the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL). A CO2 price is completely absent for a significant part of the emissions in the agricultural sector.
The PBL looked at who exactly pays for which greenhouse gas emissions, how much that is and whether the price paid is in proportion to the climate damage caused. Taxes for road traffic are sufficient to compensate for climate damage due to excise duties. The same applies to the tax on gas that is consumed in homes and business premises. According to the PBL, only the largest consumers pay too little.
‘Adjust energy tax’
The energy tax on electricity and gas in the Netherlands is structured in such a way that small consumers pay relatively more than large consumers. There are different drives. In the case of electricity, the environmental damage in the third and fourth bracket is many times greater than is compensated by taxes. Those are the drives that large consumers fall under. In the first and second bracket, the load is too high in relation to climate damage, the PBL sees. Households and many SMEs fall in these brackets.
In addition, the ODE tax (Storage for Sustainable Energy and Climate Transition) is for the most part borne by consumers in the first two brackets. The proceeds of this storage are intended to finance the energy transition.
A large coalition of SME sector organizations has already written a brief to informer Mariëtte Hamer. They think the current set-up is unfair. Figures from Eurostat statistics have also shown that households in the Netherlands pay a relatively high amount of energy tax. And Milieudefensie concluded last year that SMEs make a greater contribution to making industry more sustainable than large consumers.
The PBL also sees “every reason” to review the energy tax on electricity. Not just because the costs are unevenly distributed. “The current design is becoming an increasing obstacle to the energy transition,” says the planning office. For the energy tax, it does not matter whether electricity is generated by wind turbines or in a coal-fired power station. “As a result, there is no incentive to generate more electricity from renewable sources.”
European plans
The European CO2 price is not yet high enough, but it is very important in CO2 pricing, says PBL. Next Wednesday, European Commissioner Timmermans will present plans that will tighten up the rules surrounding so-called emissions trading. Then it will also be announced which sectors have to prepare for new taxes.
For example, it already leaked that the European Commission is working on a tax on kerosene by 2023. Shipping must also prepare for a new tax, which concerns bunker oil. The European agricultural sector seems to be out of the picture for the time being.
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