The Netherlands – The Dutch Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) has been approved by the EU Commission, making 623 million dollars available through the Just Transition Fund (JTF) to support a just transition to a climate-neutral economy.

The Fund will assist six Dutch regions—Groningen and Emmen, IJmond, Groot-Rijnmond, Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, West-Noord-Brabant, and Zuid-Limburg—in their efforts to transition away from an economy based on the exploitation of fossil fuels or carbon-intensive businesses.

The JTF aids nations that are especially impacted by the shift to a climate-neutral economy. As the 2021–2027 Partnership Agreements and related programs are being negotiated with the Commission, these territories are identified in the territorial just transition plans (TJTPs). The Partnership Agreement with the Netherlands was approved by the Commission in June 2022.

The JTF will make investments in environmentally friendly steel and chemical manufacturing processes. Additionally, it will boost the chemical industry’s usage of bio-based raw materials.

To promote the electrification of industrial processes, regional networks for renewable hydrogen will be created, and local power networks will be enhanced.

Additionally, it will encourage more circularity innovation for the industrial sector and aid in the development of new industrial value chains that will be beneficial to nearby small and medium-sized firms.

The JTF will also promote climate-neutral logistics, such as through the electrification of inland vessels, energy efficiency in dwellings, and the development of renewable energies.

Retraining workers

To give 49,000 workers who are now employed in the fossil fuel industry the new skills they need to work in the renewable and climate-neutral industries, the JTF will invest in their training.

By investing in human capital and the diversification of local economies, the Fund will also increase local labor mobility and support the workforce by assisting in the creation of new jobs in carbon-neutral industries.