Dutch state to end export credit insurance for fossil fuel from Jan. 1

Grupo Catalana Occidente SA

03/11/2022 17:06

AMSTERDAM, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The Dutch government on
Thursday said it intends to stop giving companies and banks
credit insurance for exports in the fossil fuel sector as of
Jan. 1, following through on a pledge made at the COP-26 climate
conference in Glasgow.
    In a statement announcing the move, the Finance Ministry
called it an "important step" and noted that the Cabinet is
still in dialogue with other countries that made the same
commitment "in order to guarantee a level playing field as much
as possible". 
    Around 20 countries including Germany, the United States,
Britain and Canada made similar commitments, but only a few
including France have so far implemented them into policy.
    Like most industrial nations, the Netherlands grants state
export credit insurance (ECI) on qualifying exports when private
insurance is insufficient, usually on large transactions or
exports to developing countries.
    When the pledge was announced in 2021, the Cabinet said it
did so knowing it would put Dutch exporters at a competitive
disadvantage to exporters in countries that do still offer such
insurance. 
    In 2021, the Dutch state took on 7.3 billion euros in new
ECI obligations, a spokesperson for the finance ministry said.
The ministry does not have data for the fossil fuel sector.
    According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), petroleum and
petroleum products made up 9.3% of Dutch exports in 2021, with a
trade value of 54.7 billion euros.   
    The Finance Ministry said the Netherlands might reconsider
the policy if other countries fail to adhere to their COP-26
pledges.
    Dutch exporters apply for state ECI via private trade credit
insurer Atradius, part of Grupo Catala Occidente SA GCO.MC .
 (Reporting by Toby Sterling, editing by Ed Osmond)
 ((toby.sterling@thomsonreuters.com;))