The decision comes despite a Dutch court decision in January which ordered the government to respect its existing 2030 deadline to protect sensitive natural areas from nitrogen pollution, most manure, with the use of fertilizers that also contribute. Brussels can also weigh because the delay is likely to violate the EU habitat directive, which forces Member States to prevent the deterioration of protected ecosystems and restore them “in a short term”.
The Netherlands have long been zero for the European nitrogen crisis, with its high density agriculture attributed to dump excessive nitrogen in the conservation areas of Natura 2000. The country ranks among the worst EU for nitrogen pollution by hectare, about four times the European average – much more than its landscapes and its protected habitats.
Successive governments struggled with environmental obligations with farmers, a conflict that has helped overthrow the last coalition and fueled the rise of the Wiersma BBB, which has become most of the Dutch Senate in 2023 and joined the national coalition government last year.
Five more years
The new plan includes a “start -up set” of 2.2 billion euros to encourage farmers near vulnerable nature sites to reduce, move or invest in cleaner technologies. The package covers voluntary redemptions for breeders, including 750 million euros for those who choose to close and 627 million euros for dairy producers who retreat. Another 100 million euros is reserved for nature catering.
The government is also preparing to revise how nitrogen is regulated. Until now, Dutch policy has been based on the quantity of nitrogen pollution was enjoyed in protected areas – the so -called critical deposit value (KDW). The Wiersma plan signals a distance from this system to the fixing of emission limits directly at the source, on farms and individual factories. The way these ceilings will be calculated remain clear.
“This plan offers a perspective for farmers and space for innovation while we continue to work for nature recovery,” Wiersma told journalists before adoption.
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