This country note features selected environmental indicators from the OECD Core Set, building on harmonised datasets available on OECD Data Explorer. The indicators reflect major environmental issues, including climate, air quality, freshwater resources, waste and the circular economy, and biodiversity. Differences with national data sources can occur due to delays in data treatment and publication, or due to different national definitions and measurement methods. The OECD is working with countries and other international organisations to further improve the indicators and the underlying data.
Environment at a Glance: Netherlands
The Netherlands is a small, densely populated country with a very open economy. It ranks among the largest economies in the euro area and its population enjoy high living standards. International trade plays a significant role in the economy. Given the country’s role as a major trading hub, with the Port of Rotterdam the largest in Europe, transport is an important sector in the Dutch economy.
The country is situated on the south-east shore of the North Sea, at the downstream end of three international river basins. About 30% of the total surface area of 41 573 km2 lies below sea level, in the west and north, protected from the sea by barriers of dunes and dikes. The Netherlands’ highest point is only 321 metres. Half of the territory is prone to flooding and the Netherlands faces persistent water challenges, such as water shortages and water quality. The need to protect the land from high water from rivers and the sea, and the tradition of artificially draining low-lying areas, have combined to give the Netherlands a complex hydraulic infrastructure. The low-lying parts of the country is highly urbanised. Rural areas are used for intensive farming. The Netherlands has major natural gas reserves and a small amount of oil. It was a major producer of natural gas, but the production has been reduced significantly since it led to earthquakes in the province of Groningen. The Netherlands has a role as a trade and transit hub for oil, gas, electricity and coal.
The Netherlands has achieved an absolute decoupling between real GDP growth, and energy use and production-based CO2 emissions. The per person production-based and demand-based (or footprint) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been steadily declining since 1995 and are now close to the OECD averages.
Emissions have slowly but steadily decreased since 2000. Energy industries are the largest emitter of GHG emissions, followed by the residential sector and transport.
Fossil fuel continue to dominate the energy mix. The Netherlands has been a major producer and exporter of natural gas since the 1960s. Though its share has been decreasing for several years to the advantage of renewable energy, natural gas still covered 36% of the total energy supply in 2023. In 2018, natural gas imports exceeded domestic production for the first time. A new law was passed in December 2019 that calls for the phase out of coal in electricity production by 2030. The law stipulates that the remaining four coal power plants in the country must discontinue coal use by the end of 2029 at the latest (OECD, 2023[1]).
The share of renewables in electricity production jumped from 3.3% in 2000 to 46.9% in 2023, with much of the growth happening since 2019.
Air pollutants emissions show a downward trend for all sources in the last two decades. However, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) increased again in 2020, due to an increase in the use of disinfectants as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Intensities per person and per unit of GDP are below the OECD and OECD Europe averages.
Road transport is the largest contributor to NOx emissions, although it decreased by 70% since 2000, due to greater use of catalytic converters and particulate filters. NOx emissions also reduced due to the mandatory application of selective catalytic reductions in the industry, refineries and the energy sector, better insulation, more high-efficiency boilers in houses and office buildings, and a reduction in the usage of coal.
Emission reductions went on par with air quality improvements. Exposure to PM2.5 air pollution nevertheless remains higher than the World Health Organisation recommendation of 5 µ/m3, in all regions.
The Netherlands is not a water-rich country, especially in terms of internal resources, and it suffers from moderate to high water-stress. Abstractions for public supply per person have declined since 2000 and are low.
The country is a high performer in terms of wastewater treatment, with nearly the entire population connected to tertiary (advanced) wastewater treatment plants.
The generation of municipal waste per person is below the OECD and OECD Europe averages and has been decreasing since 2020. Most of municipal waste are recovered through incineration with energy recovery, composting and recycling.
The Netherlands imports many products that are subsequently exported after some form of processing. For example, the Netherlands imports a substantial amount of crude oil and, after processing petroleum products like motor fuels, re-exports them. The Netherlands exports more materials per person than other EU countries. The per person material input is relatively high compared to neighbouring countries and the EU area, and it has increased since 2000.
Material consumption of the Netherlands decreased by 26% since 2000, while material productivity increased by 61%. The material productivity in the Netherlands is consistently well above the average of all OECD countries. The material footprint peaked in 2007 and has been decreasing until 2012.
Unlike most other OECD countries, fossil energy materials have a larger share in the material mix than non-metallic minerals. The total amount of raw materials used in the Dutch economy, excluding recycled waste (the direct material use), decreased in 2022 compared to 2018, mainly due to lower use of fossil fuels and non-metallic minerals, in turn partly due to the nitrogen crisis.
The Netherlands is among the most densely populated countries in the world. Much of the land area is covered by highly productive agricultural lands, with pristine ecosystems being currently virtually absent. Since the early 1900s, the average quality of all distinguished types of nature has declined; however, in forests and moors, the decline has decreased. The Netherlands also has a relatively large area of wetlands. Nowadays, in the large Dutch rivers, alien species outnumber the native species however it is not yet clear to what extent alien species are invasive and replacing native species (CBD, 2022[2]).
The shares of terrestrial and marine protected areas are above the OECD average and the country already exceeds the 2030 GBF target (under the Convention on Biological Diversity) of protecting 30% of marine areas.
This section shows selected policy instruments based on data available for most OECD countries and does not provide a complete overview of countries’ policy mix to achieve their environment-related objectives. Interpretation should consider the country specific context.
The share of environmentally-related tax revenues in GDP is much higher than the OECD average but, has been declining considerably in recent years, from 3.6% in 2010 to 2.4% in 2022. The share in total revenues has also declined. Like in most countries, energy and transport make up the bulk of the tax base but, unlike many OECD countries, pollution and resource tax bases, albeit small, are not negligible.
The Netherlands is continuously evaluating its energy tax expenditures and subsidy programmes as part of its commitment to a “greener” tax system in line with its climate and low-carbon energy transition objectives. One of the major support programme for end-users is the reduced energy tax rate specific for horticulture. Energy tax refund schemes are also provided to energy-intensive businesses, claimable as electricity tax bill refunds. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of fossil fuel support measures have been launched in the Netherlands, mainly benefitting fossil fuel consumers (OECD, 2023[1]).
In total, 77.2% of GHG emissions in the Netherlands were subject to a positive Net Effective Carbon Rate (ECR) in 2023. Explicit carbon prices in the Netherlands consist of emissions trading system (ETS) permit prices and carbon taxes, which cover 42% of GHG emissions in CO2 eq. With roughly 41.4% of total GHG emissions, coverage is largest for ETS. Fuel excise taxes, an implicit form of carbon pricing, cover 40.5% of emissions in 2023. Direct fossil fuel subsidies cover 13.8% of emissions. About 72% of GHG emissions have a Net ECR above EUR 60 per tonne of CO2 eq., a mid-range estimate of current carbon costs. Net ECRs are highest in the buildings sector, which accounts for 14.6% of the country's total GHG emissions. The Net ECR is on average positive in all sectors (OECD, 2024[3]).
The share of environmentally-related government R&D budget has declined considerably between 2000 and 2010. It increased in recent years to 2.05% in 2024. The share of renewables in total public energy R&D has fluctuated considerably, from 24% in 2000 to 12.7% in 2021 and 32% in 2023.
The number of per person inventions by Dutch residents and the share of environmentally-related in total inventions is in line with the OECD average, and declining in recent years.
The Netherlands is recognised for its focus on its strengths in areas such as food security, water, health and rule of law; its strong learning culture; and its continued engagement in fragile contexts. In 2025, the government redefined the objective and scope of Dutch co-operation policy, redirecting it towards its national interests of trade, security and migration and focusing it on its key areas of strength: water management, food security and health. The Netherlands’ total official development assistance (ODA) decreased in 2024 to USD 7.5 billion (preliminary data), representing 0.62% of gross national income (GNI)..
In 2022-23, the Netherlands committed 58.3% of its total bilateral allocable ODA (USD 2.3 billion) in support of the environment and the Rio Conventions, up from 42.1% in 2020-21. The DAC average was 39% in 2022-23. Five per cent of screened bilateral allocable ODA focused on environmental issues as a principal objective, compared with the DAC average of 9.6%. Fifty-seven per cent of total bilateral allocable ODA focused on climate change overall, up from 39.9% in 2020-21 (the DAC average was 34.8%). The Netherlands had a greater focus on adaptation (50.6%) than on mitigation (22%) in 2022-23. Twelve per cent of screened bilateral allocable ODA focused on biodiversity overall, down from 12.5% in 2020-21 (the DAC average was 7.6%). The Netherlands committed USD 6.2 million in support of the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean in 2023, USD 12 million less than in 2022. The 2023 value is equivalent to 0.2% of the Netherlands’ bilateral allocable ODA. (OECD, 2025[4]).
References
[2] CBD (2022), Country profiles: Netherlands, https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile?country=nl.
[4] OECD (2025), Development Co-operation Profiles, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/development-co-operation-profiles_04b376d7-en/netherlands_08ef430f-en.html.
[3] OECD (2024), Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2024: Gearing Up to Bring Emissions Down, OECD Series on Carbon Pricing and Energy Taxation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b44c74e6-en.
[1] OECD (2023), OECD Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels: Country Notes, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5a3efe65-en.
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