“There is a lot of advice, but the difficult thing is that a caretaker cabinet cannot make major decisions about the long-term fight against the nitrogen crisis,” explains political reporter Lars Geerts.
“There is scope to be able to make something of policy so that certain environmental goals are not endangered, but… a proposal of 15.3 billion to tackle the nitrogen you don’t have to go through the Council of Ministers in the afternoon. You have to talk about that in the formation.”
Guidance for the debate
Spokesperson Evert-Jan Brouwer of the PBL emphasizes that this new report is intended to be discussed at the formation table. “We are legally authorized to put something on the agenda on our own initiative if we feel that there is not or insufficient attention for something in the social debate. That was the case in this case.”
The policy document outlines that stricter nitrogen regulations will make the work of many farmers impossible. The PBL recommends tailor-made solutions, in the short term, especially in the most vulnerable areas. European regulations also offer scope for this, the planning office argues.
Brouwer emphasizes that this is not a political piece, but a guideline for the debate. “We don’t say choose this or that, that’s up to politics. We list: if you do this, then that is the result; if you only focus on this, you lose sight of this. An analysis of the possibilities and the consequences.”
Not adopted one-on-one
Whether the recommendations of the PBL are followed is therefore up to the next cabinet. That will have to determine whether the conclusions are politically feasible. Geerts points out that even the recommendations of the Remkes Committee on the nitrogen approach (“Not everything is possible everywhere“) were not adopted one-on-one.
“That was a broadly supported committee in which all parties that might come to rule in the Netherlands were represented, and yet in this political constellation it turned out not to be feasible to take over everything: it was not a halving of nitrogen emissions by 2030, but a decrease of 26 per cent.”
Nevertheless, Geerts sees opportunities for the PBL advice. “An area-oriented approach that the PBL advocates is also the approach proposed by the cabinet. Do not blindly halve the livestock, but look at where the most damage is caused and nature suffers the most and then buy out farms there.”
In view of the fierce discussion that the piece sparked on social media, the PBL has succeeded in giving a new impulse to the nitrogen debate. However, Brouwer has not yet seen political reactions. “When will there be a response? No idea. We hope it will come to the table with the formation, but that is currently a completely unclear situation.”
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