On the occasion of today's German-Dutch government consultations, Minister Habeck and Minister Jetten jointly declare:

“The war in Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis has put great pressure on the European energy system. As a result, combining energy security, -affordability and sustainability is one of the most urgent tasks of our time. It requires, we do the right things in the short term to ensure security of supply and support households and businesses through these tough times. However, even in times of crisis, we must muster the strength to look to the future and make the necessary investments in green technologies, reduce our energy dependence and achieve climate neutrality. Smart climate policy makes two friends with one gift: it frees us from the clutches of Russian fossil imports and at the same time it protects us from the disaster that an unchecked climate crisis would bring. The Netherlands and Germany are partners on this path and will work closely together to drive forward investments in the expansion of renewable energies and in hydrogen technologies.”

In view of new technologies and green hydrogen Minister Habeck added: “In the case of hydrogen, the challenge is twofold: we need to work together in Europe to drive forward the expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure. And we are working to significantly accelerate the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy at the same time. In industry in particular, the demand for green hydrogen will rise very quickly, and we are preparing for this. I am therefore pleased about the Dutch government's interest in cooperating on the innovative H2Global funding instrument. The aim of the project is to promote the international market ramp-up of green hydrogen and to use so-called double auction processes for this purpose. This means hydrogen or hydrogen derivatives are bought cheaply on the world market and sold in the EU to the highest bidder."

In view of offshore wind minister Habeck said: "A key to the climate-neutral economy is without question offshore wind. Wind conditions at sea are almost always favorable, and offshore wind is a reliable, strong energy source that we will use even more. And the best way to do that is together with our partners. In the Esbjerg Declaration, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Belgium have therefore committed to developing "hybrid" offshore cooperation projects together. This means that wind farms and power grids will be combined and connected to several member states. This will allow us to build the first truly European renewable power plants - a strong signal that we see energy supply as a common European concern. As partners, we can thus develop offshore wind energy in the North Sea region even faster and more efficiently and tap new potential for green hydrogen."

Minister Jetten added on the topic of offshore wind and hydrogen: "Germany and the Netherlands recognize the historic opportunity to accelerate the delivery of offshore renewable energy. Together with Denmark and Belgium, our two countries already presented plans to supply more than 200 million European households with green energy from the North Sea by 2050. However, we also need green molecules to make our industries more sustainable. We have therefore agreed to join forces in scaling up the production of green hydrogen and developing the necessary infrastructure."