Many companies are perfectly capable of passing on the increased energy costs, and some even go the extra mile. This has emerged from research by the Central Planning Bureau, in which various industries were also examined. ‘We have certain industries in this country that should never have become this big,’ says professor Arnoud Boot.
According to Boot, two important conclusions emerged from the research. ‘The first is that certain industries are taking advantage of the opportunity to increase prices even more. Because if prices fluctuate strongly, it won’t be very noticeable if you raise the prices.’ However, he emphasizes that companies should always be given the opportunity to adjust prices.
As an example, Boot mentions that the industry consumed 40 percent less gas in the past year. ‘You also get changes in the composition of industrial companies,’ he continues. “We have certain industries in this little country that should never have become this big, because of the energy and space they consume, or the air pollution they cause.”
Step back
If a gigantic company such as Tata Steel, for example, has an effect on the environment and energy consumption that is not in line with the climate guidelines, then we should get rid of such a company, according to Boot. ‘You have to get rid of that air pollution in a densely populated area.’ Especially given the extremely low unemployment in the Netherlands, according to Boot it is unnecessary to keep such industries in the Netherlands. ‘That is a valid argument in Southern Europe, for example, where you have a youth unemployment rate of twenty percent. In a country like the Netherlands that is a strange argument to use.’
An often heard argument for retaining such large, nuisance-causing companies is that when they leave, they would also take many other companies with them that depend on their services and products. ‘You have to see if there are companies that fall between two stools and that are so crucial to the Netherlands that they drag the rest of the economy along with them,’ says Boot. ‘If there are none, it’s very simple: the government should take a step back.’
