‘Finally out of the impasse’, but still very uncertain for farmers

Businesses causing a lot of nitrogen precipitation in the wild will be tackled faster, farmers near protected areas will be offered a one-off cash payment to voluntarily stop, and agreements will need to be reached with agricultural organizations, nature organizations and governments about the future of agriculture. In short, these are the main points the nitrogen plans that the government announced today.

Organizations faced with it react divided to the plans. There is still a lot of unclearness, especially for farmers, and this is where the biggest criticisms can be heard. An overview:

Tata Steel states in a response “to play its part in the transition to green steelmaking with hydrogen”. As a result, nitrogen oxide emissions are further reduced, the company says.

“We also assume our short (more) term responsibilities,” says Tata. The company refers, among other things, to the construction of a so-called DeNOx plant at the pellet factory. “When the DeNOx plant is commissioned in 2025, nitrogen oxide emissions for the entire IJmuiden industrial complex will decrease by around 30% compared to the start of the improvement program in 2019.”

According to VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland, with the nitrogen approach presented today, the Cabinet is taking “a first step towards finally breaking the deadlock and ensuring that both nature can recover and the energy transition, the task of building and other projects can continue thereafter”.

The most important pillar of the government’s approach is a buy-out scheme for flagship shippers at over 100% of corporate value. This scheme should make it interesting for farmers, especially in the vicinity of nature reserves, to end their business in an attractive way. “This is the only way to finally create opportunities for housing construction, building new infrastructure and for projects to make the Netherlands more sustainable in the shortest possible time,” said Ingrid Thijssen, president of VNO-NCW.

Bouwend Nederland is relieved: “We think it is good that after 3.5 years there is really a focus on reducing nitrogen emissions and that the cabinet is finally negotiating with the top shippers,” says chairman Maxime Verhagen. “This approach is in line with the measures we have been advocating for a long time.”

The umbrella organization in the construction sector now wants to know quickly when the space will be available and wants it to be used with priority for construction and infrastructure projects and for the energy transition. “We can make an important contribution to the cabinet’s ambitions with little room for nitrogen. In the meantime, ensure that planned construction projects can continue without delay and that additional subsidies are rapidly provided for the purchase of cleaner construction equipment.”

Most of the uncertainty today is in the plans for farmers. Early next year, the cabinet therefore wants to conclude an agreement with agricultural organisations, nature conservation organizations and local authorities on the future of agriculture. Before that time there will be a buyout program for farmers who want to quit.

President Sjaak van der Tak of the farmers’ interest organization LTO Nederland: “I’m incredibly concerned about the outlook for permanent farmers. These letters will put more pressure on that. Of course it’s good that a good voluntary cessation program is being promised. But the permanent farmers who are critical to us are getting many additional restrictions imposed, such as a higher groundwater level and limited innovation opportunities.”

Also the farmers’ organization Agactie still finds it very unclearand is concerned about the stringent environmental, water and climate regulations facing farmers. They are happy that there will be a voluntary buyout scheme, but they want it to be enforced “with no sticks behind the door”, so no coercion over time. This could happen if not enough high-end users take advantage of the compression scheme.

Environmental organization Mobilization for the Environment, which forced the government to enforce stricter rules on nitrogen through lawsuits, is not yet available for comment.

How did the Netherlands get into a nitrogen crisis? Check out this special production of NOS at 3: