At the request of the House of Representatives, Minister Van der Wal for Nature and Nitrogen has two lists published of the companies that emit the most nitrogen oxides and ammonia. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia (NH3), a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, cause the nitrogen problem, causing damage to natural areas.
In the top 100 of companies that emit the most nitrogen, Tata Steel in IJmuiden is in first place and Schiphol in second place, followed by chemical companies such as Dow and Shell and the Chemelot industrial complex in Geleen. Rockwool in Roermond is number 1 in the top 100 of ammonia emitters. Furthermore, the ammonia list includes almost exclusively livestock farms.
41 percent of nitrogen precipitation in sensitive natural areas comes from agriculture, has the RIVM calculated† That percentage was questioned by farmers, but in the end their own research also came up out there.
Shrink or leave
The provinces and the Ministry of Agriculture are working on a nitrogen overview per Natura 2000 area. For each area, it is determined what needs to be done there in order to preserve or improve nature. The agricultural companies that are responsible for the emissions there are told whether they should downsize or leave.
On Friday, Minister Van der Wal announced that agricultural companies will be bought out this year. In heavily degraded areas where too few farmers stop voluntarily, action is taken by force.
In May there will be an overview (a so-called ‘quick-scan nature target analysis’) of all nature reserves where something must be done as quickly as possible. These extensive ‘nature target analyses’ will be completed between the end of 2022 and April 2023.
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