The move is “anything but self-evident,” he said, adding that “2012 is going to be a very difficult economic year. All budgets are severely limited.”

The measures involved were tax relief on payments for energy-saving home renovations, such as the installation of double glazing, roof insulation or high-performance water heaters. Energy minister Freya Van den Bossche (sp.a) has called for a bridging scheme between the federal subsidy and whatever Flanders eventually decides, so that home-owners who are considering changes can be assured of some consistency.

“If we want to help bring down people’s energy bills and achieve our environmental aims, Flanders has to compensate for the meaningful measures that have just been scrapped at federal level,” said Flemish parliament member Bart Martens (sp.a). In Flanders, the measure would cost an estimated €333 million, and Van den Bossche admits the money would be hard to find.

The scrapping of the federal subsidy has had one positive side-effect. Home-owners had until 28 November to order work to qualify for the subsidy. However, the bill also has to be paid this year, even if the work is carried out in 2012. Given the last-minute rush of people hoping to qualify, contractors are looking forward to a massive injection of cash-flow coming up to the New Year.

Meanwhile, the scrapping of another green subsidy has been welcomed by Komimo, the environment and mobility organisation. The cancellation of the discount offered by the federal government on the purchase of a low-emissions, “green” automobile will improve air quality in the region, according to Komimo. The reason is because in practice most of the subsidies went to smaller diesel vehicles, which have higher-than-normal emissions of nitrous oxide and fine particulates.