Carbon opportunities in the Netherlands
Natural carbon sequestration represents an estimated societal value of roughly €31 billion per year in the Netherlands, rising to €429 billion by 2050. Methods such as reforestation, regenerative agriculture, biobased construction and biochar could together sequester roughly 36 Mt of CO₂ per year. The biggest gain comes from using carbon as an organising principle for economy and ecology, not from offsetting existing emissions.
About this market exploration
Prepared for: the Province of Gelderland in collaboration with the provinces of Utrecht, North Holland and South Holland.
The question: explore the potential economic and ecological opportunities of carbon sequestration and map how governments and organisations can build an effective strategy.
Most notable result: nationally, carbon sequestration represents roughly €31 billion in societal value, while offering solutions within the complex spatial puzzle for several critical policy challenges at once.
Concrete next steps: translate the identified opportunities into an effective strategy, starting with building knowledge of carbon sequestration within governments and organisations — directly relevant to circular economy and biobased construction, spatial pressure and living environment, energy and grid congestion, water and soil, and transition opportunities for agriculture.
In short
Carbon sequestration removes CO₂ from the atmosphere and stores it in soil, biomass, nature, water and long-lived materials. For the Netherlands, the combined societal value of natural sequestration is estimated at roughly €31 billion per year, rising to €429 billion by 2050.
The exploration organises the possibilities across ten internationally recognised methods based on IPCC systematics, maps potential and value per method, and translates this into regional opportunities. The central message: carbon sequestration works best when reducing emissions stays the priority, while sequestration simultaneously creates new, lasting value in agriculture, construction and nature.
Broad prosperity. Investing in carbon sequestration delivers economic value and contributes to a healthy living environment, water quality, biodiversity and wellbeing. Natural sequestration represents roughly €31 billion per year, rising to €429 billion by 2050.
What is carbon sequestration
Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing CO₂ from the atmosphere and storing it for an extended period. In natural systems this happens through photosynthesis: plants, trees and soil life bind carbon into biomass and organic matter. Biobased materials extend that storage by holding carbon in products and buildings.
Not offsetting, but creating. Sequestration delivers the most value when linked to healthier soils, stronger supply chains and new revenue models, rather than to buying off existing emissions. Reducing emissions remains a precondition: without reduction, sequestration has little effect.
The exploration distinguishes temporary, long-term and permanent sequestration. Sequestration in agricultural land can be short-lived, but also long-lasting with consistent, careful soil management. Biobased construction stores carbon long-term as long as materials are designed for (re)use and avoid demolition or incineration. Sequestration in minerals is nearly permanent and can last tens of thousands of years. The longer the sequestration, the greater the positive effect on climate, nature and society.
Offsetting, reducing or sequestering?
Offsetting CO₂, reducing CO₂ and sequestering CO₂ are three different things. Reduction cuts emissions at the source. Sequestration, also called carbon dioxide removal (CDR), takes CO₂ out of the atmosphere and stores it in soil, biomass, nature, water or long-lived materials. Offsetting buys off one’s own emissions through carbon credits, often elsewhere. The order matters: avoid first, then reduce, and only then address the remainder with sequestration that creates new value.
International consensus places reduction above offsetting. Offsetting through the voluntary carbon market does not reduce one’s own emissions and shifts the challenge elsewhere. The quality of carbon credits depends on additionality (would the storage happen without financing anyway), permanence (does the carbon stay stored long-term) and verifiability. Without these guarantees, greenwashing risk arises. New Economy’s approach is therefore to create rather than offset: sequestration that simultaneously delivers healthier soils, stronger supply chains, biodiversity and new revenue models.
CCS, CCU and CDR. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) captures CO₂ at an emission source and stores it underground. Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) uses captured CO₂ as a raw material in products. Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) removes CO₂ already in the atmosphere, via natural methods such as reforestation, regenerative agriculture, peatland restoration and biobased construction, or via technological methods such as BECCS and direct air capture (DACCS). CO₂ storage in the Netherlands happens both underground, for example in depleted gas fields under the North Sea, and above ground in nature, soil and materials. See what CCS, CCU, BECCS and CDR are for a fuller explanation.
The ten methods
The exploration follows ten methods based on IPCC systematics. Mechanism, storage certainty, cost and wider effects on soil, biodiversity and economy differ per method.
- Planting and reforestation (incl. agroforestry)
- Soil carbon (regenerative agriculture)
- Biochar
- Bioenergy with carbon capture (BECCS)
- Direct air or ocean capture (DACCS/DOCCS)
- Enhanced mineralisation
- Wetland and peatland restoration
- Blue carbon ecosystems
- Ocean alkalinity enhancement
- Ocean fertilisation
Natural (green) methods such as reforestation, regenerative agriculture, peatland restoration and biobased construction are already applicable and embedded in existing policy. Technological (grey) methods such as BECCS and direct air capture have longer-term potential, but require significant energy, depend on critical raw materials and face grid congestion. The table below summarises technical sequestration potential and societal value per method.
| Method | Potential 2030 (Mt CO₂e/year) | Societal value 2030 (per year) | Cumulative 2030–2050 (Mt) | Cumulative value (€bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reforestation and agroforestry | 0.4–12.12 | €350m–€10.6bn | 125.2 | €110 |
| Biobased construction materials | 3.9 | €3.4bn | 78 | €68 |
| Soil (regenerative agriculture) | 0.49–10.3 | €478m–€9bn | 107.9 | €94 |
| Biochar | 1.35 | €1.2bn | 27 | €24 |
| BECCS | 4 | €3.5bn | 80 | €70 |
| DACCS | 0 (TRL 4–8) | €0 | 8.5 | €7 |
| Enhanced mineralisation | 1.13 | €1.0bn | 22.6 | €20 |
| Peatland restoration | 1–3.08 | €875m–€2.6bn | 40.8 | €36 |
| Blue carbon ecosystems | not yet estimable | unknown for NL | — | unknown |
| Ocean alkalinity and fertilisation | not yet estimable | unknown for NL | — | unknown |
| Total | 12.27–35.88 | €10.8–€31.3bn | 490 | €429 |
Technical sequestration potential and societal value per method, based on a societal CO₂ price of €875 per tonne. DACCS has a Technology Readiness Level between 4 and 8 according to publieke bronnen (2023); its 2030 potential is therefore not yet actively counted. Source: Carbon Sequestration Market Exploration, New Economy (2025).
Attractive returns. Green carbon sequestration is estimated to return 7 to 30 times the investment, with methods already applicable today.
Market value and potential
Combined, the sequestration methods represent a technical potential of 12.27 to 35.88 Mt CO₂ per year in 2030 for the Netherlands, and a societal value of €10.8 to €31.3 billion per year. Cumulatively to 2050, this amounts to roughly 490 Mt CO₂ and a value of €429 billion.
The greatest leverage sits at the intersection of agriculture, soil and construction, where sequestration can be linked to new revenue models and product chains. There, carbon is not only stored but also economically anchored. According to the World Economic Forum, every euro invested in land restoration returns 7 to 30 times the investment.
€501 billion in risk reduced. The Dutch economy currently faces €501 billion in risk from the loss of ecosystem services. Carbon sequestration strengthens ecosystem services and makes the economy, nature and society more future-proof.
From national to regional
The national exploration has been translated for three provinces into concrete opportunity maps, starting from regional soils, supply chains and stakeholders. These opportunity maps are also usable for other provinces and European regions formulating their own strategy.
Opportunities for farmers, businesses and industry. Proven revenue models with low investment — via alternative markets, risk-spreading and certificate trading — contribute to more resilient sectors.
Alignment with the National Roadmap
On 14 March 2025, the Dutch Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth published the National Roadmap for Carbon Removal, two days after New Economy’s Carbon Sequestration Market Exploration (12 March 2025, with a supplemented version in May 2025). Both publications were developed independently and complement each other.
Where the Roadmap emphasises long-term technological removal, the Market Exploration shows that green methods are already widely applicable today, have lower thresholds and deliver broader societal value. A comparison document brings both together, with concrete action options for decentralised governments.
Method and sources
The exploration uses IPCC systematics for carbon sequestration, combined with eco-cost/EVR systematics and a societal CO₂ price of €875 per tonne to express value in euros. Figures are based on calculation models, public datasets and sector benchmarks. For quality and oversight, the exploration references the voluntary carbon market, the European Carbon Removal & Carbon Farming Regulation (CRCF), the ISO 14064 series, the Oxford Principles and the Science Based Targets initiative.
Assumptions, system boundaries and source references are set out in full in the report. The figures are indicative and intended to organise opportunities, not as project-specific guarantees. The Market Exploration was prepared by New Economy (Huub Visser, Sven Jense and Pepijn Duijvestein), with design of the Carbon Map and Carbon Sequestration House by Jarr Geerligs, commissioned by the Province of Gelderland in collaboration with the provinces of Utrecht, North Holland and South Holland.
The Carbon Sequestration House
The Carbon Sequestration House maps which sequestration methods are linked to the societal challenges from the Dutch National Strategy on Spatial Planning and the Environment. Each method is assessed against policy goals around circular economy, living environment, energy, water, soil, climate, agriculture and nature.
The analysis shows that natural sequestration in particular is linked to multiple goals at once: less nitrogen emission, cleaner water, healthy food, biobased construction material and new economic opportunities. Technological sequestration more often targets a single goal, such as CO₂ reduction alone, and can sometimes temporarily raise nitrogen emissions. An integrated weighing of green and grey methods is therefore advisable.
Links per method. Natural sequestration is linked to 22–23 of the 26 societal challenges from the National Strategy on Spatial Planning and the Environment; technological methods to 3–6.
Tools and downloads
- Carbon Sequestration Market Exploration (PDF) Full exploration · roughly 14 MB. Download the main report
- Policy brief (PDF) Key points and recommendations · roughly 1 MB. Download the policy brief
- Carbon Map of the Netherlands (PDF) Methods and regional potential · roughly 0.3 MB. Download the map
- Carbon Sequestration House (PDF) Methods versus policy challenges · roughly 0.5 MB. Download the assessment framework
- Carbon market explanatory document (PDF) Certification and stakeholders · roughly 2 MB. Download the document
- Alignment with the National Roadmap (PDF) Comparison document · roughly 1 MB. Download the comparison
Insights from this project
Frequently asked questions
Carbon sequestration is capturing CO₂ from the atmosphere and storing it long-term in soil, biomass, nature, water or long-lived materials such as biobased construction products. New Economy’s market exploration maps which methods are most promising in the Netherlands.
Carbon sequestration delivers the most value when it adds new value, such as healthier soils, stronger supply chains and new revenue models, rather than buying off existing emissions. Reducing emissions remains a precondition.
The natural sequestration methods together represent a societal value of roughly €31 billion per year, rising to roughly €429 billion by 2050, based on a societal CO₂ price of €875 per tonne.
The exploration follows ten methods based on IPCC systematics, including planting and reforestation, soil carbon, biochar, BECCS, direct air capture, enhanced mineralisation, wetland and peatland restoration, and blue carbon ecosystems.
Reducing cuts emissions at the source. Sequestering removes CO₂ from the atmosphere and stores it in soil, biomass, nature or long-lived materials. Offsetting buys off one’s own emissions through carbon credits, often elsewhere. The international order is: avoid and reduce first, then sequester in ways that create new value.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) captures CO₂ at a source and stores it underground. Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) uses captured CO₂ as a raw material. Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) removes CO₂ already in the atmosphere, via natural or technological methods.
Further reading
Explore the carbon opportunities
From a national exploration to a concrete opportunity map for a province, municipality or supply chain. Questions about this exploration can go to contact@neweconomy.eco.
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