• The Netherlands has been ordered by the court in The Hague to reduce nitrogen emissions from agriculture and transport by 2030 in critical areas.
• It was Greenpeace Netherlands that brought the case against the government to protect natural areas.
• The problem of nitrogen pollution has been affecting the country for several years, with farmers protesting for a just transition.

On 22 January, the court in The Hague ordered the government to drastically reduce nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands by 2030. The ruling is a victory for Greenpeace Netherlands, which in July 2023 had taken the Amsterdam government to court, accusing it of failing to address critical levels of nitrogen oxide pollution – mainly caused by agriculture (chemical fertilisers and intensive livestock farming) and transport – and of failing to comply with existing European regulations aimed at protecting nature reserves, biodiversity and water quality.

The Netherlands will therefore now have to adopt effective measures to bring, over the next five years, half of the natural areas affected by nitrogen pollution below the established critical thresholds. Failing to do so, the government will be fined 10 million euros.

The Dutch government and the ruling on nitrogen emissions: differing reactions

"It is a celebration for nature, but without a cake, because we should never have needed a judge to intervene", declared Andy Palmen, director of Greenpeace Netherlands. "Time has been lost and urgent measures are now needed. We expect the government to finally take responsibility in its action plan and ensure that all relevant sectors, including agriculture, traffic, aviation and industry, make a fair contribution and are supported in the ecological transition."

The reaction of agriculture minister Femke Wiersma was very different: she stated she was disappointed by the court's ruling and was considering an appeal. "We take the nitrogen problem very seriously: we are already implementing numerous measures and developing further policies", she wrote in a post on X. "At the same time, we support an approach that does not lose sight of the broad social impact of the measures we adopt. After all, we cannot ask the impossible of people and businesses."

The nitrogen problem in the Netherlands has been ongoing for several years. As far back as 2019, an administrative court in the country had ruled that the state's nitrogen plan did not meet EU objectives. In 2023, new restrictive measures were proposed, but they triggered a wave of protests from Dutch farmers due to uncertainty about the future.

Greenpeace Italia: "Let the Dutch ruling serve as a warning for our country"

"We hope this ruling also sounds as a warning for our government, given that our country is subject to infringement proceedings for failure to comply with the nitrates directive, due to excessive nitrogen loads contaminating certain Italian territories, coming mainly from intensive livestock farming", commented Simona Savini of Greenpeace Italia.

Italy risks having to answer before the European Court of Justice and facing heavy penalties "for failing to adequately protect water and the population from nitrate pollution from agricultural sources", as stated in the latest letter sent to Italy by the European Commission.

An action plan moving in this direction is also supported through the legislative proposal "Oltre gli allevamenti intensivi" (Beyond Intensive Livestock Farming), presented last March by a group of environmental and animal rights associations, calling for an immediate moratorium on intensive livestock farming and a gradual but no longer deferrable agroecological transition of the livestock sector.