The International Energy Agency's 2000 review of the Netherlands' energy policies and programmes. It finds that Dutch citizens are very environmentally minded. They are prepared to pay extra for clean and renewable energy to meet the national climate commitments. The government has set ambitious targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions and increasing the share of renewables in the energy market. The Netherlands aims at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50 million tonnes by 2010, and at raising the share of renewables from 1% in 1995 to 10% in 2020. The government has put together a programme that can achieve this – as well as a back-up plan if the target is not reached, and a plan for the long term. But efficient markets are also important to the Dutch. In the electricity and gas industries, full retail competition is to be introduced on an accelerated schedule in 2004. Since competition was introduced into the power market in 1998, the necessary institutions and secondary legislation have been put in place, making the market highly competitive. Three out of the four large generators in the country have been sold to foreign utility investors. There is room for improvement in the rules for the allocation of interconnector capacity, to be found in co-operation with the Netherlands’ European neighbours.
