The Dutch government believes energy-intensive companies such as steel group Corus should get compensation for the higher energy bills which will result from EU climate change plans, the Volkskrant reports on Thursday.

Ministers fear that without compensation, companies will leave for countries where the standards are less strict, the paper says, quoting confidential documents.
In addition, the Netherlands says companies which will have to buy pollution rights under the CO2 emissions trading scheme should be able to compensate for extra CO2 pollution by planting trees in developing countries.
A spokesman for the environmental organisation Greenpeace told the paper that the cabinet’s plans undermined every effort to get industry to use cleaner energy.