The next milestone in the goal of drastically reducing nitrogen emissions around nature reserves by 2030 is currently not reached by the Dutch government, the Dutch portal Nieuwe Oogst reported on February 28.
The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) has calculated that ammonia emissions, mainly from agriculture, are still too high. The agricultural sector will need to reduce ammonia emissions by at least another 18 to 33 kilotons over the next seven years to meet the target, PBL notes.
The government wants the announced National Rural Program (NPLG) to close this gap, but the plans have not yet been specific enough for the planning agency to calculate measures. In 2019, the Council of State ruled that the nitrogen approach was not in line with the conservation rules of the European directive.
Three years after this decision, Dutch agriculture “it was still emitting too much nitrogen”. Therefore, when calculating nitrogen emissions from agriculture, PBL included plans to switch to low-protein animal feed and switch to low-emission barns.
At the same time, it is observed that inland navigation still emits too much nitrogen oxides. In addition, maritime transport is a major source of nitrogen oxide emissions, but this sector is not included in the European emission targets.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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