News Politics
'Clarity expropriation or massacre in November'
The House of Representatives is debating the NPLG (National Program Rural Area) and nitrogen today. MPs are clearly in the electoral position, where they want to profile their own party. That is what Member of Parliament Tjeerd de Groot of D66 said this morning in an interview with Trouw that if peak loaders do not voluntarily reduce nitrogen emissions, their permits should be withdrawn from November.
He clarified in the House today that he does not want a weighing moment in November, as the cabinet intends. "Make it clear in advance what the consequences are if you do not cooperate voluntarily." He also wants clarity on what the 'mandatory set of instruments' entails. "D66 just wants an acceleration of the agreements. That just means that you will have to provide that clarity in advance. Then many more farmers will participate - they will count their knots, will say: I will opt for innovation, I will move or: I If I wanted to stop anyway, I'm going to end my company here at this place. That way you hardly have to use those instruments in the end. And if you do it your way (to CDA member Derk Boswijk ed. ) then it really will be a bloodbath in November."
Caroline van der Plas of the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) warns that when it comes to expropriation, 'proceedings can take ten years if farmers go to court'. "Then nothing will happen at all. If you start expropriating, you usually get a higher amount. Farmers will think: expropriate me." BBB and JA21 together have a initiative note written to 'get out of the impasse created by the introduction of the Nitrogen Act; also published today. ;
According to independent Member of Parliament Pieter Omtzigt, 'very expensive policy is pursued on the basis of quicksand models'. He refers to the Aerius model, which he believes is suitable for determining the general situation with regard to nitrogen in the Netherlands, but which cannot be used for individual cases of expropriation. "How do we ensure that it does not become a legal chaos, just like with Box 3, just like with the implementation of the recovery payments and soon a list of thousands of farmers who will contest the expropriation - I warn you about this - where we have billions spent, whereby we do not achieve the nature objectives because we still have latent nitrogen space." According to De Groot, the 'scheme is gold-rimmed for good reason' and the compensation in the event of expropriation will actually be less than 100%.
Technical briefing
In the run-up, officials from LNV gave a technical briefing last night. It was also about tackling peak loaders. For the peak loader approach (the 3.000 Dutch companies with the most deposition in Natura 2000 areas), an LBV-plus (national termination scheme for livestock farming) is being set up, an extra attractive purchase scheme. For 10.000 others there is the 'ordinary' LVB, it emerged. LNV expects that there will be approximately 3.000 industrial companies among the 25 peak loaders.
When determining the peak loads, both the emissions of NOX (nitrogen oxides) and NH3 (ammonia) are taken into account. In the other nitrogen approach - and this also surprised some MPs - the cabinet is looking at one substance per sector. So there is no focus on NOX in agriculture and not on NH3 in mobility and industry/energy. According to the LNV officials, there is a big difference in the characteristics between NH3 and NOX and what they do, and it is more effective to control NH3 emissions than NOX emissions. When asked by Pieter Omtzigt whether there is no longer any focus on NH3 for the industry ('does this mean that the largest emissions of ammonia in the whole of the Netherlands will escape Rockwool here', the answer given was that the peak loader approach also NH3 harassers added The expectation of LNV is that if you reduce NH3 you also reduce NOX, but that 'cannot be said with certainty, also because there is a manure surplus'.
Resist provincial CDA and VVD against nitrogen policy
This morning the NOS also reported that in a large number of provinces coalition parties CDA and VVD are telling voters that they want to oppose the national nitrogen policy. The broadcaster did analysis of the statements in the Kieskompas.
At the time of writing, Minister Christianne van der Wal for Nature and Nitrogen and Piet Adema of LNV had not yet spoken in the House of Representatives.
Linda van Eekeres
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