Outgoing climate minister Rob Jetten thinks he can make agreements with sectors about a phase-out path for fossil subsidies. These agreements will therefore also make clear when the (tax) benefits that encourage the use of fossil fuels in that sector will expire.
By agreeing on a time when the subsidies will end, “you also send a clear signal to the business community”, which will immediately know when it should switch to clean alternatives to the use of fossil fuels. “You see that together with the aircraft sector and the maritime sector, we can agree on very clear dates about when did you phase out those fossil subsidies. And how do you ensure rapid sustainability of the same sector in the meantime,” Jetten outlines.
Fossil subsidies in particular that end up in “sectors where clean technologies are available” must be phased out quickly, the minister said prior to a meeting with his EU colleagues in Luxembourg. European climate ministers are considering a negotiating position for the climate summit in Dubai that will start at the end of next month.
At the UN climate conference, Jetten will call on other countries to be as transparent as possible about how many tax benefits and subsidies go to the use of fossil fuels. The Netherlands provided clarity about this on Budget Day, and the number of fossil subsidies was much higher than initially thought: it amounts to around 40 to more than 46 billion euros annually.
Source: ANP
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