Written question – Exemption for temporary construction emissions and depositions for sustainable projects – P-003051/2025

Priority question for written answer  P-003051/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Tom Berendsen (PPE)

In its resolution on the Clean Industrial Deal (2025/2656 (RSP)), Parliament expressly called on the Commission to introduce a temporary exemption for construction emissions and depositions for clean and net-zero projects and storage and grid infrastructure. The Draghi report also makes reference to the need for this.[1]

In several Member States, including the Netherlands, sustainable projects for CCS infrastructure, green hydrogen production or grid reinforcement, for instance, are being delayed or blocked because of permit requirements in connection with construction emissions or deposition (nitrogen-related for the most part).[2] This stems from European legislation and needs to be resolved urgently.[3]

Emissions and deposition during construction are temporary and, in most instances, are no more than ‘negligible’[4] while, over time, the sustainable projects themselves actually lead to substantial reductions in CO₂ and nitrogen emissions. Current European legislation in this area is therefore hampering the necessary speeding up of the energy transition for industry and of the process of making industry sustainable.

• 1.Does the Commission agree that there should be exemptions for temporary construction emissions and depositions for sustainable projects?
• 2.Is the Commission considering making specific proposals along those lines, for example in the prospective European Grids Package and/or the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act?
• 3.If so, on what timescale is a proposal to be expected?

Submitted: 23.7.2025

• [1] The Draghi report (Part A), p. 50; the Draghi report (Part B), p. 33.
• [2] See inter alia ‘Volkskrant’, ‘Groen licht voor CO₂-opslag onder Noordzee, milieuactivisten verliezen strijd tegen Porthos-project’ (16.8.2023); ‘L1 Nieuws’, ‘Provincie zet vergunning waterstoffabriek door, ondanks negatief advies’ (7.5.2025); De Telegraaf, ‘Netbeheerder: zeker 317 uitbreidingsprojecten in gevaar door stikstofregels, tekort stroom dreigt’ (21.4.2025).
• [3] Such as the Habitats Directive, the Birds Directive and the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.
• [4] See, for example, Council of State, Ruling 202107079/2/R4, para. 15-15.11.