Electric cars and energy-efficient homes are key to the Flemish climate deal

After a week of negotiations, the Flemish government reached an agreement on further climate efforts. It should reduce carbon dioxide emissions in industry, agriculture, housing and mobility by 40 percent by 2030. This is far more than the 32.6 percent target previously sought by the government. Energy Minister Saturn Demir (N-VA) can leave for Scotland’s climate summit on Saturday with a deal in his pocket.

Vehicles with an internal combustion engine are prohibited. From 2029, no diesel, petrol, or hybrid cars are allowed To be registered more. All new cars must be electric.

Fleet electrification was the hardest decision to make. The Open VLD wanted to ban combustion engine registration from 2027, but the N-VA had serious reservations about Feasibility from that time. The success of 2029 will be monitored. The ban could be postponed if it turns out that there are not enough cars, batteries and charging stations, or if electric cars remain more expensive than those powered by a combustion engine.

“The sharp edges are gone,” Demir says. But with that scale, we’re at the top of Europe. Only Norway is doing it faster,” said Deputy Prime Minister Bart Sommers (Open VLD) spokesman. He has been consistent in the negotiations: Open VLD put ambitious measures on the table, after which the N-VA had questions about feasibility. But after Six days of political and technical consultations, positions were reconciled.

The ban will not apply to cars located in second hand market. VLD Open has dropped its application. The influx of electric motor cars will dominate the used car market in the long run, and that’s why. In addition, transport company De Lijn’s fleet should be emission-free by 2035 and kilometer charges for trucks will be linked to CO2 emissions.

The government also reached agreement on another proposal from Open VLD: only Fossil-free heating in new buildings. With this you want to push the people who build towards a heat pump. Gas heating is prohibited. The Liberals wanted the ban to go into effect in 2023, but their coalition partners thought that was too soon.

Gas heating will only be banned from 2023. Families can install a hybrid heat pump – a combination between a gas boiler and a heat pump. from By 2026, being free of fossils will become the norm.

The necessary condition for gas ban is that heat pumps, which are powered by electricity, attractive from a financial point of view. Premiums for heat pumps will rise to 2,250 euros. The government will require the energy regulator VREG to reduce the distribution network fee for owners. The charge shift from electricity to gas should enhance the attractiveness of the heat pump. Work continues on this tax transformation.

What has already been agreed upon is a file Renewal of commitment From 2023. Anyone who buys a house marked EPC or F must renovate it within five years to economic level D. The €20,000 interest-free renewal loan is linked to this. Anyone who already has a home will be encouraged to renovate. These families get an additional premium and can take out a loan at a negative interest rate of up to 1.5 percent.

For a long time, agriculture seemed to be a blind spot in climate negotiations. The N-VA was upset that CD&V had put too few proposals on the table. The sector now appears to be compelled to tighten. The Farming It should emit 31 percent less greenhouse gases by 2030. A -30 percent reduction target is imposed on methane. The government also states in its agreement that livestock should be reduced in line with European meat consumption. Pending the nitrogen negotiations, which will be difficult for farmers, no concrete measures have been taken so far.

However, subsidies for fossil fuel cogeneration will disappear from 2023. This subsidy will also be eliminated in the industry. With the 170 million euros that the government will provide, the electricity bill will be reduced. The industry should reduce its emissions by 36% by 2030. It is remarkable that the government in August 2022 natural gas tax Imports for industrial companies. And of the 45 million euros this should generate, three-quarters of it will be used for a lower electricity bill. The rest is for energy-efficient investments in companies.

All parties are satisfied with the agreement. “This is an ambitious climate plan,” Summers says. “It’s totally in line with our party,” Deputy Prime Minister Hilde Krevitz (CD&V) said. It was hard to break, but we shouldn’t be ashamed of these actions. We are the only region in Belgium that is making concrete efforts, says Demir.