With existing low-carbon technologies, companies can reduce emissions at a faster pace
Closing the emissions gap is a realistic task for the Netherlands in the coming years. For many sectors, the Dutch climate goals are even within reach. Deploying existing low-carbon technologies and other carbon-free measures by companies will make a significant contribution to the 20301 climate goals and climate neutrality by 2050. ABN AMRO's study, published today, 'With available low-carbon technologies, the 2030 climate goals are within reach' provides companies in sectors with an important tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The report also helps companies formulate a strategy for the route to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands, more than 80 percent come from the business sector. "Reducing these emissions in all economic sectors has many challenges, but technology is not one of them," says Casper Burgering, Senior Economist Sustainability Research at ABN AMRO. "The pace of the transition is now hampered by limited grid capacity and its slow expansion, the lack of qualified personnel, policy inaction and financeability, among other things. But once existing obstacles are removed, the emission reduction potential of low-carbon technologies can be high, our sector analysis shows. Once the government follows through by using its policy instruments to ensure that investment in emission reduction is the least-cost strategy for these companies, the technology can be deployed."
Low-hanging fruit: many existing technologies already offer great opportunities
Reducing energy consumption and decarbonizing primary processes is still in its infancy for many companies. "However, many of the available low-carbon technologies are low-hanging fruit with which companies can already achieve useful results in the short term," argues Burgering. For example, a large number of companies in the industrial sector can use the available low-carbon technologies to go a long way in reducing emissions. However, this varies greatly by industrial sector. In highly energy-intensive industries - such as the food, petroleum and base metal industries - the challenge is still relatively high. In these subsectors, greenhouse gas emissions have been slow to decrease. In other industrial sectors, however, the climate target is well within reach, such as in the building materials, paper, chemical, and electrical and electrical engineering industries. However, this is very different in sectors outside industry, such as in many transport sectors or in water companies and waste management. There, the deployment of disruptive technologies to reduce greenhouse gases is less widespread, there is a lack of resources to break this technology through, or government policies are less stringent or transparent.
Urgency to make big steps now
Sandra Phlippen, chief economist at ABN AMRO, emphasizes that for SMEs in particular, the urgency is greater than it seems. With large emitters already decarbonizing under pressure from the Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), SMEs risk being left behind. This leaves SMEs with less time for the same reduction task. And even if SMEs are not regulated by a new government, SMEs risk becoming less attractive as suppliers to net neutral large customers."
Phlippen continued: "This research helps SMEs make the move by showing how SMEs can concretely decarbonize. With current technology, companies can reduce their emissions at a faster pace. Technology can do a lot for companies, but then the focus and the euros must be put on the low-carbon technologies that have the biggest impact. It is about technological innovations being deployed on a larger scale by the business community, putting climate goals much more within reach and making Dutch SMEs future-proof."
The new ABN AMRO report shows the impact in sectors of available carbon-free technologies on greenhouse gas emissions. It discusses the current state and trends in greenhouse gas emissions in Dutch sectors. It also provides insight into the milestones that need to be achieved and discusses the challenges and obstacles in the energy transition. Furthermore, the report provides insight into which Dutch sectors face the greatest challenges to meet the 2030 and 2050 targets. To this end, a sector depth is also included, discussing in more detail the impact of low-carbon technologies for 21 key sectors for the Dutch economy.
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1that is at least 55% below 1990 greenhouse gas emissions
The entire report (84 pages) can be downloaded hier.
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