Netherlands lawmakers voted on Tuesday to reduce nitrogen use. This law puts great restraints on farmers and fertilizers. As they want to grow agriculture and people need to eat, farmers are protesting and blocking streets. Here is what we know.
Lawmaker Issues
The lawmakers in Netherlands saying that emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia need to be dramatically cut [1]. Specifically, they need to be cut near habitats for endangered species. The government is suggesting reducing livestock populations and buying the farms of those who raise animals.
Nitrogen oxides from manure need to be reduced, per their government. While Dutch and European courts have ordered the Dutch government to address this problem, this is their solution. The government wants farmers to adapt somehow. Besides animal manure, the next contributor of nitrogen oxide is construction and traffic.
Public Opinion
Farmers argue that they are unfairly targeted. They fear little if any hope for a future. About 40,000 farmers drove their slow tractors along the highways last week, snarling traffic. Some have burned hay bales. Meanwhile, as fishermen see these demonstrations, they join in. Fishermen locked ports, stranding people for hours. The fishermen fear they will be the government’s next targets. After that, then who? Construction worker, travelers, and law abiding citizens?
Time will tell who concedes? The government or the people?
Notes:
- ^https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/netherlands-emissions-plan-farmers-protest-explained-7999870/ (go back ↩)
