In order to protect nature sufficiently against nitrogen, the precipitation has to be reduced by 50 to 70 percent. That is much more than the 26 percent stated in the Nitrogen Act, according to two recent reports to the Ministry of the Interior.
The cabinet formation may become a lot more complicated by the recommendations, as the VVD sees little in the way of a strict nitrogen policy. This means that the largest party is directly opposite D66, which, among other things, wants to halve the livestock. The current cabinet had to completely overhaul the nitrogen rules because the Council of State ended the approach that had been used for years in 2019.
In order to control the harmful effects of nitrogen, emissions must be reduced by 50 percent, provided that separate measures are taken in areas with severe nitrogen excess. If the government chooses not to make policies for specific areas, the report recommends the standard of 70 percent nitrogen reduction. That would only be feasible if livestock shrinks even further.
Especially reducing the emission of nitrogen compound ammonia (NH3) benefits nature. Halving the ammonia emissions is “feasible, but only in a combination of technical measures and a decreasing volume of livestock, in particular of dairy cattle”.
Other suggestions are to make polluters pay, just like with the CO2 tax. European agricultural subsidies can also be used to encourage farmers to farm greener. In any case, the top civil servants responsible for the recommendations advise on making policy at European level. About 30 percent of the nitrogen that descends in the Netherlands comes from abroad.
According to the reports, more must be done in the longer term than is currently planned in terms of measures. At the beginning of February, the cabinet already presented a package of measures to reduce nitrogen. Of the 522 million euros that were released, 350 million was intended for the purchase of farms.
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