Provinces support Hoekstra over nitrogen timeline

Various provinces agree with CDA leader Wopke Hoekstra that the year 2030 should not be sacred when it comes to achieving the agreed nitrogen reduction. There are questions about both ends and means.

This is what 'independent discussion leader' Johan Remkes said after discussions with provincial administrators. According to these administrators, there are still too many uncertainties in the cabinet proposals to be able to proceed quickly and establish area-oriented policy.

Little seems to have been said about the Critical Deposition Value (KDW), against which the nitrogen sensitivity of nature reserves is measured, while this was also a clear point that Hoekstra raised. Other matters were also discussed during the consultation, such as ammonia from the sea. Edward Stigter, Groen Links deputy in Noord-Holland and spokesperson on behalf of the Interprovincial Consultation (IPO), said that it is difficult for coastal provinces to make plans now that there is still a lot of uncertainty about this emission source, De Telegraaf reports.

Not literally held to the coalition agreement
Prime Minister Mark Rutte has confirmed that not everyone in the province and at nature organizations feels literally bound by the agreements in the coalition agreement. The water boards have also joined Remkes. They particularly emphasized their concern about water quality and the climate resilience of Dutch water management. According to them, there is also a lot of work to be done on this point.

As a result of Hoekstra's statements, an emergency debate is expected to take place in the House of Representatives tomorrow (Tuesday). This debate was requested last week by PVV leader Geert Wilders. Various parliamentary journalists have described Hoekstra's statements as a bomb under the cabinet, because it would violate the coalition agreements. Tomorrow should show how seriously the other coalition partners take the CDA's turn. There is also a lot of division about nitrogen policy in the VVD and the ChristenUnie.

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