Recommendations on CO2 abatement policy in Rotterdam Municipal District

Rotterdam Municipal District (RMD), comprising all the municipalities in the Rijnmond industrial zone, has pledged to cut its CO₂ emissions by 40%. These aspirations emerged from an earlier project in which CE Delft set out the options available, working together with RMD, local councils and other stakeholders. These options have been translated into a Regional Climate agenda.

The main options are as follows:

• Implementation of an energy conservation programme for existing dwellings that ties in with the national programme ‘Doing more with less’.
• Tighter energy performance standards for new dwellings.
• Systematic environmental auditing of businesses and institutions for energy-saving policies and if necessary an obligation to implement them, combined with incentives.
• New businesses and institutions: energy efficiency as a condition for establishment in RMD.
• Greenhouse horticulture and offices: creation of a regional physical planning framework for underground storage of cold and heat.

It also emerged from the project that the collaboration under the umbrella of RMD can lead to synergies, by:

• Exchange of know-how and setting up pilot projects.
• Coming to collective arrangements with regional players like housing associations.
• Setting the same requirements on businesses seeking a location.