The document provides key recommendations from an OECD environmental performance review of Belgium in 2021. It recommends that Belgium: 1) develop an ambitious green recovery plan coordinated across governments to promote a strong, resilient low-carbon economy; 2) adopt a climate law setting long-term targets for climate neutrality; and 3) scale up investment in low-carbon infrastructure like building renovation and sustainable mobility. It provides supporting data and analysis on Belgium's environmental challenges like emissions reductions, resource efficiency, and biodiversity protection.

1. Rodolfo Lacy
OECD Environment Director
31 March 2021
Environmental
Performance
Reviews
Belgium
2021

2. Selected
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
Promoting a
strong,
resilient and
green
economic
recovery and
get on track
for climate
neutrality
 Develop a recovery plan with ambitious climate and
environmental targets, co-ordinated between the
federal and regional governments.
 Reinvigorate inter-federal co-operation on
sustainable development
 Adopt an inter-federal climate law setting long-term
national targets to achieve climate neutrality
 Scale up investment in low-carbon infrastructure,
accelerate building renovation and develop a
common vision of sustainable mobility
2

3. Selected
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
 Align taxes with environmental objectives, phase out fossil fuel
subsidies and develop compensatory measures for vulnerable
households
 Vary road distance charges by space and time and remove the
favourable tax treatment of company cars
 Align objectives of biodiversity policies with those of the EU
Biodiversity Strategy for 2030
 Further mainstream biodiversity in agricultural and spatial planning
policies
 Broaden the mix of instruments for moving further up the waste
hierarchy and for promoting the transition to a circular economy.
 Strengthen co-ordination on waste and circular economy policies
and assess circular policy initiatives
3

4. Source: OECD (2020), OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2020 Issue 2.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
2005 2008 2011 2014 2017 2020
%
Growth rate (%)
4
Belgium is severely hit
by the COVID-19 pandemic
Real GDP Unemployment
rate
4

5. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2005 = 100
Total primary energy supply
Freshwater
abstractions
Municipal waste generation
PM2.5 emissions
NOX emissions
SOX emissions
Real GDP
Sources: IEA (2020), World Energy Statistics and Balances (database); OECD (2020), OECD Environment Statistics (database).
The country has made progress in
decoupling several environmental
pressures from GDP…
5

6. … but is not on track
to meet the SDGs
6

7. … but is not on track
to meet the SDGs
7

8. 0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Coal, peat, oil shale Oil Natural gas Nuclear Renewables Other
OECD
% of
fossil fuels
ENERGY SUPPLY BY SOURCE
2019
Note: Total primary energy supply excludes electricity trade.
Source: IEA (2020), World Energy Statistics and Balances (database).
Fossil fuels and nuclear
dominate the energy mix
8

9. GHG EMISSIONS,
PROJECTIONS AND OBJECTIVES
Adopt an inter-federal climate law
setting long-term national targets to
achieve climate neutrality
Kyoto target 2008-12
Non-EU ETS target
Non-EU ETS target
Expected non-EU ETS
emissions in the Long-
term Strategy
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050
Mt CO2 eq
Total
Non-EU ETS
EU ETS
Projections with existing measures
Projections with additional measures
Notes: GHG emissions excluding land use, land-use change and forestry. Non-ETS targets: under the EU Effort Sharing legislation.
Sources: OECD (2020), OECD Environment Statistics (database); EEA (2019), Country Profiles: Greenhouse Gases and Energy 2019 (database);
CONCERE-NCC (2019), National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030; Governments of Belgium (2020), Long-term Strategy. 9

10. MEAN POPULATION
EXPOSURE TO PM2.5
2019, micrograms/m3
Air pollution remains
a health concern
10

11. Strengthen water management
objectives in agricultural policy
0
50
100
150
200
250
Kg/ha
2%
74%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Bad
Poor
Moderate
Unknown
Good
High
With ubiquitous, persistent,
bioacumulative and toxic
substances
Without UPBTSs
ECOLOGICAL STATUS
of surface water
Share of surface water
bodies in GOOD chemical
status
NITROGEN
balances
2016-18 averages
High use of nutrients and pesticides in
agriculture has significant impacts on
water quality and ecology
Note: Nitrogen balance: data for Belgium refer to 2013-15 averages.
Sources: EEA (2018), “Ecological status of surface water bodies” and “Chemical status of surface water bodies” (dashboards);
OECD (2020), OECD Agriculture Statistics (database).
11

12. Develop a co-ordinated recovery plan
with ambitious climate and environmental targets
80
90
100
110
120
ECONOMIC
capital
HUMAN
capital
SOCIAL
capital
NATURAL
capital
The depletion
of natural
capital put
well-being
of future
generations
at risk
Source: FPB (2021), Indicateurs complémentaires au PIB.
Composite indicators on wellbeing´s sustainability
INDEX 2005 = 100
12

13. Align taxes
with environmental objectives
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
%
ENVIRONMENTALLY RELATED TAX REVENUE
as percentage of GDP
2005 and 2018
2018 2005
Source: OECD (2020), OECD Environment Statistics (database). 13

14. PHASE OUT
fossil fuel subsidies
Notes: Data need to be interpreted with caution because fossil fuel subsidy data may be partial and because data record tax expenditure as an estimate of revenue that is foregone due to a particular feature of the tax
system that reduces or postpones tax relative to a jurisdiction's benchmark tax system, to the benefit of fossil fuels.
Hence, tax expenditure estimates could increase due either to greater concessions, relative to the benchmark treatment, or to a raise in the benchmark itself. It is important to note that definitions of tax expenditure, and
the benchmarks used to estimate the size of the expenditure, are nationally determined and may hamper international comparisons. 2018-19 data include preliminary estimates.
Source: OECD (2020), OECD Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels (database).
Support to fossil fuel consumption:
tax expenditure increased
with diesel taxes
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
EUR milllion
2015 prices
Electricity
Natural gas
Petroleum
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
EUR million
2015 prices
Tax expenditure
Budgetary transfer
COMPOSITION OF CONSUMPTION SUPPORT
by type and fuel 2007-19
14

15. Reflect negative effects of road use
in prices and taxes
Source: van Dender (2019), Taxing vehicles, fuels, and road use. Opportunities for improving transport tax practice.
Federal government
 aligned diesel and petrol taxes
 grants favourable tax treatment to company cars
⇒ Remove the favourable tax treatment of
company cars
Regions
 established environmental criteria in vehicle taxes
 introduced road distance charges for trucks
 ...but traffic of light duty vehicles
⇒ Vary road distance charges by place and time for
trucks, and expand the system to other vehicles
Fuel use
Fuel type#
Vehicle type#
Road type#
Place#
Time#
CO2 (climate)
Air pollution
Road wear
Noise
Congestion
Fuel tax
Vehicle tax**
Distance by road
type
Distance by place
Distance by place
and time
Congestion charge*
Distance by vehicle
type
EXTERNAL COST MAIN DRIVERS BEST ALIGNED TAXES
#: In combination with distance driven * Not distance dependent (e.g. cordon charge)
** Not distance dependent
15

16. Invest in
low-carbon infrastructure
investment needs
are high
Notes: The pact only considers public buildings. Total investment in building energy renovation is estimated at EUR 11 billion annually.
Developing transport networks: EUR 13 billion out of which EUR 7 billion in rail and EUR 2 billion in waterways.
Source: Strategic Committee (2018), National Pact for Strategic Investment.
0 5 10 15 20 25
Renovation of public buildings
Electricity mix
Transmission and distribution networks
Storage
Alternative fuels (CNG, hydrogen, biogas)
Nuclear decommissioning & R&D in spent fuel mgt
Maintaining and developing networks
Intelligent transport systems
Transport demand management
Support framework
EUR billion
Investment needs in energy and mobility, 2019-30
Public Private
Energy
EUR 60
billion
Mobility
EUR 22-27
billion
Renewables Gas
16

17. A significant number of Belgian
species are threatened…
Source: OECD (2020), Environment at a Glance Indicators.
0 10 20 30 40
Slovenia
Switzerland
Germany
Austria
Greece
Slovak Republic
Sweden
Belgium
Netherlands
Portugal
Norway
Italy
United Kingdom
Denmark
Czech Republic
Hungary
Spain
Turkey
France
Poland
Lithuania
Finland
Latvia
Estonia
Ireland
Iceland
Luxembourg
MAMMALS
0 10 20 30 40 50
VASCULAR PLANTS
0 10 20 30 40 50
BIRDS
Threatened
species
percentage of
know species,
latest year
0 10 20 30 40 50
FRESHWATER FISH
17

18. Better manage protected areas
to improve the conservation of
habitats and species
Sources: OECD (2020), OECD Environment Statistics (database); UNEP-WCMC (2020), World Database of Protected Areas (database).
0
20
40
60
% of total land TERRESTRIAL protected areas, 2020
0
20
40
60
80
100
% of exclusive
economic zone MARINE protected areas, 2020
30% possible CBD target
30% possible CBD target
18

19. Further mainstream biodiversity
into spatial planning
0
2
4
6
8
Nb of meshes/km2 Landscape fragmentation
2009 2012 2015
Note: fragmentation: the Effective Mesh Density is a measure of the degree to which movement between different parts of the landscape is interrupted by a fragmentation Geometry (FG). FGs are
defined as the presence of impervious surfaces and traffic infrastructure, focusing only on major roads. The more FGs fragment the landscape, the higher the effective mesh density hence the
higher the fragmentation. Source: EEA (2019), Land take in Europe; EEA (2019), Landscape fragmentation status and trends, 2009-2015: country comparison.
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
m2/km2
Land take and recultivation, 2012-18
19

20. Set biodiversity targets in Belgium's
strategic plan for the post-2020 CAP
Source: Lotz et al. (2020).
CAP reform opens up new
opportunities to green
agriculture
20

21. Belgium’s material
productivity improved
Note: Domestic material consumption (DMC) refers to the amount of materials directly used in an economy, or the apparent consumption of materials.
Material productivity designates the amount of GDP generated per unit of materials used (GDP/DMC).
Source: OECD (2020), OECD Environment Statistics (database).
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Trend in domestic material consumption
by type of materials, 2008-19
Non-metallic minerals Biomass
Fossil energy carriers Metals
Million tonnes
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
2008=100
Decoupling trends, 2008-19
DMC GDP/DMC Real GDP
21

22. Household waste has fallen
but construction waste has grown since 2010
Note: “Others” category includes electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply; wholesale of waste and scrap; mining and quarrying; and agriculture, forestry and fishing.
Source: Eurostat (2020), "Generation of waste by waste category, hazardousness and NACE Rev. 2 activity".
Others, 4%
Manufacturing,
25%
Water and waste
management,
23%
Construction,
34%
Services, 7%
Households, 7%
WASTE by sector, 2018
18%
9%
34%
-5%
-17%
-30% -10% 10% 30% 50%
Manufacturing
Water and waste
management
Construction
Services
Households
Change in waste generation by sector,
2010-18
22

23. Belgium recovers, recycles and
composts nearly all of its
municipal waste
Notes: 2018 or most recent data available. For Belgium the category “other” refers to refers to mechanical biological treatment inputs.
Sources: OECD (2020), OECD Environment Statistics (database).
0
20
40
60
80
100
% of waste treated
Municipal waste treatment, 2018
Recycling Composting
Incineration with energy recovery Incineration without energy recovery
Landfill Other
23

24. Regions have been pioneers of the
circular economy, but further efforts
and co-ordination are needed
Brussels
Regional
Circular
Economy
Strategy
Circular
Flanders
Procure
ment
Cities
Business
Brussels
Good
Food
Strategy
Circular
Wallonia
Strategy
Wallonia
competitive-
ness clusters
Green deal
on
procurement
Local initiatives
across Belgium
Federal Circular
Economy Roadmap
24

25. THANK
YOU