{"id":6371,"date":"2019-11-18T10:27:04","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T10:27:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=6371"},"modified":"2019-11-18T10:30:49","modified_gmt":"2019-11-18T10:30:49","slug":"the-dutch-nitrogen-crisis-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/the-dutch-nitrogen-crisis-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dutch Nitrogen Crisis: Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It was only in 2012 when the Dutch\u00a0<em>overheid\u00a0<\/em>(government) passed a\u00a0<em>wet\u00a0<\/em>(law) to allow 130 km\/h (80 mph) on <em>snelwegen\u00a0<\/em>(highways), up from 120 km\/h (75 mph). And now, in a matter of days, a\u00a0<em>besluit <\/em>(decision) was made to limit it to 100 km\/h (62 mph) again, starting on January 1. A <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/top-5-dutch-new-years-resolutions\/\"><em>nieuwjaarsresolutie <\/em>(New Year&#8217;s resolution)<\/a>, so to say. But to solve what problem? Let&#8217;s dig in.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A horrible decision for the<em> vroemvroempartij<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mark Rutte geeft uitleg over de aanpassing van de maximumsnelheid\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rChO0UdEgsQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To be more specific, though, the 100 km\/h\u00a0<em>snelheidslimiet\u00a0<\/em>(speed limit) counts only for driving <em>overdag <\/em>(during the day). From 7 pm to 6 am, the previous 130 km\/h limit remains in force.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Rutte had quite some explaining to do. The <em>minister-president <\/em>(prime minister) and head of the VVD had a difficult decision to make here. The VVD, the party known as the <em>vroemvroempartij <\/em>(vroom vroom party) for its push to increase the <em>maximumsnelheid\u00a0<\/em>(maximum speed) to 130 km\/h, now leads with a decision to go all the way back to a measly 100 km\/h. &#8220;<em>I<\/em><em>k baal er ongelofelijk van, het is verschrikkelijk<\/em>&#8221; (&#8220;I am really annoyed by it, it is horrible&#8221;), Rutte said, &#8220;<em>maar anders hadden mensen met Kerst zonder baan gezeten&#8221; <\/em>(&#8220;but otherwise people would have been out of a job by Christmas&#8221;). He even made an appearance on the <em>YouTube-kanaal <\/em>(YouTube channel) of his\u00a0<em>vroemvroempartij<\/em>, explaining the situation (see above). And it is all related to\u00a0what is now known as the\u00a0<em>stikstofcrisis\u00a0<\/em>(nitrogen crisis). The what?<\/p>\n<h2><em><b>Bouwstop\u00a0<\/b><\/em><b><\/b><b>and\u00a0<em>stikstof<\/em><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Waarom heeft Nederland een stikstofprobleem?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UcDM80wf7-Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In July, the\u00a0<em>Raad van State\u00a0<\/em>(Council of State), the highest general administrative court in the Netherlands, made an\u00a0<em>uitspraak\u00a0<\/em>(judgment) that the\u00a0<em>Programma Aanpak Stikstof (PAS)<\/em> (Program Tackling Nitrogen), could not be used to give\u00a0<em>vergunningen\u00a0<\/em>(permits) to projects that emit\u00a0<em>stikstof<\/em>. The PAS did two things: hand out <em>vergunningen <\/em>for <em>stikstof<\/em>-emitting projects, and for <em>stikstof<\/em>-reducing projects. But that goes against the European <em>wetgeving <\/em>(legislation) on the matter. The PAS assumed <em>vooruitlopend <\/em>(in anticipation) that\u00a0reductions of <em>stikstof <\/em>could be achieved with the <em>stikstof<\/em>-reducing projects, while the European law says that there must be <em>zekerheid <\/em>(certainty)\u00a0<em>vooraf\u00a0<\/em>(before) giving any <em>vergunning<\/em> that these reductions will occur. Under the PAS, projects were given\u00a0<em>vergunningen <\/em>that would emit more <em>stikstof <\/em>than any <em>stikstof<\/em>-reducing project would compensate for, which put the Netherlands in a <em>stikstofcrisis<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>Why is\u00a0<em>stikstof\u00a0<\/em>bad? A too high amount of\u00a0reactive <em>stikstof<\/em>\u00a0leads to <em>verzuring\u00a0<\/em>(acidification) of the\u00a0<em>grond\u00a0<\/em>(soil), which in turn can lead to the disappearance of many\u00a0<em>plantsoorten\u00a0<\/em>(plant species), while others thrive. This creates a monoculture that can alter the entire ecosystem for the worse. See the video above.<\/p>\n<p>The Raad van State annulled the PAS, which meant that the <em>overheid\u00a0<\/em>(government) had to come up with a new program to hand out permits for such projects. Reactive <em>stikstof\u00a0<\/em>is mostly emitted by <em>landbouw <\/em>(agriculture), <em>bouw <\/em>(construction) and <em>verkeer <\/em>(traffic), so the consequences for the <em>economie <\/em>(economy) are grave.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of september, a\u00a0<em>rapport\u00a0<\/em>(report) was published by the\u00a0<em>commissie Remkes\u00a0<\/em>(Commission Remkes, named after\u00a0<em>oud-minister\u00a0<\/em>(former secretary) Johan Remkes) about different things the <em>overheid <\/em>could do. With the fitting name <em>Niet alles kan\u00a0<\/em>(not everything is possible), it purports that <em>many<\/em> activities need to be reduced to prevent a further increase of reactive <em>stikstof<\/em>, such as reducing the\u00a0<em>maximumsnelheid <\/em>on <em>snelwegen<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The disappearance of the PAS had immediate consequences: More than 18,000 <em>bouwprojecten\u00a0<\/em>(construction projects) had to be interrupted, which is now known as the\u00a0<em>bouwstop\u00a0<\/em>(construction stop). Lowering the maximum speed and halting\u00a0<em>staluitbreiding\u00a0<\/em>(herd expansion) are other\u00a0<em>maatregelen\u00a0<\/em>(measures) to stop the increase of reactive <em>stikstof<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6377\" style=\"width: 1016px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nl.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kop_van_Schouwen#\/media\/Bestand:Uitzicht_uitkijktoren_bos_Westenschouwen_(2).jpg\" aria-label=\"Uitzicht Uitkijktoren Bos Westenschouwen Stikstofcrisis\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6377\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6377\"  alt=\"\" width=\"1006\" height=\"295\" \/ src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/11\/Uitzicht_uitkijktoren_bos_Westenschouwen-stikstofcrisis.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/11\/Uitzicht_uitkijktoren_bos_Westenschouwen-stikstofcrisis.jpg 1006w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/11\/Uitzicht_uitkijktoren_bos_Westenschouwen-stikstofcrisis-350x103.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/11\/Uitzicht_uitkijktoren_bos_Westenschouwen-stikstofcrisis-768x225.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1006px) 100vw, 1006px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-6377\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Affected by the <em>stikstofcrisis: Natura 2000-gebied <\/em>Kop van Schouwen in Zeeland (Image by Sander v. Ginkel at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC BY SA 4.0).<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The question now is:\u00a0<em>is het genoeg<\/em> (is it enough)? The\u00a0<em>meningen\u00a0<\/em>(opinions) about this are\u00a0<em>verdeeld\u00a0<\/em>(divided). Some point to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ad.nl\/binnenland\/hoogleraar-over-stikstofcrisis-zet-mes-in-160-beschermde-natuurgebieden~a965edc0\/\">changing the\u00a0<\/a><em>natuurgebieden\u00a0<\/em>(nature reserves), like bundling them in larger single <em>gebieden <\/em>than the more than 160 currently in the country. Others say the\u00a0<em>maatregelen\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.volkskrant.nl\/nieuws-achtergrond\/de-strijd-tegen-stikstof-60-in-plaats-van-80-op-de-provinciale-weg-is-het-paard-achter-de-wagen~b9d36459\/\">are not going to work, or may even make the problem worse<\/a>. Or that the\u00a0<em>overheid\u00a0<\/em>has to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.volkskrant.nl\/nieuws-achtergrond\/er-is-niet-een-oplossing-voor-de-stikstofcrisis-het-kabinet-moet-op-zoek-naar-118-oplossingen~b7d65f4b\/\">look at more options<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you think of the\u00a0<em>stikstofcrisis<\/em>? Is there a comparable situation in your country? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"103\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/11\/Uitzicht_uitkijktoren_bos_Westenschouwen-stikstofcrisis-350x103.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/11\/Uitzicht_uitkijktoren_bos_Westenschouwen-stikstofcrisis-350x103.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/11\/Uitzicht_uitkijktoren_bos_Westenschouwen-stikstofcrisis-768x225.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/11\/Uitzicht_uitkijktoren_bos_Westenschouwen-stikstofcrisis.jpg 1006w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>It was only in 2012 when the Dutch\u00a0overheid\u00a0(government) passed a\u00a0wet\u00a0(law) to allow 130 km\/h (80 mph) on snelwegen\u00a0(highways), up from 120 km\/h (75 mph). And now, in a matter of days, a\u00a0besluit (decision) was made to limit it to 100 km\/h (62 mph) again, starting on January 1. A nieuwjaarsresolutie (New Year&#8217;s resolution), so to&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/the-dutch-nitrogen-crisis-explained\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":6377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3590,27711,27714],"tags":[506132,122,516207,516208],"class_list":["post-6371","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dutch-language","category-dutch-vocabulary-2","category-news-2","tag-mark-rutte","tag-politics","tag-stikstofcrisis","tag-vvd"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6371"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6378,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6371\/revisions\/6378"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}