Greenpeace secures court victory over Dutch nitrogen emissions
Greenpeace said the government was not doing enough to lower illegally high levels of nitrogen oxide emissions caused by intensive farming and heavy use of fertilisers.
Environmentalists have scored an important win with a court ruling in the Netherlands that the Dutch government must pay a €10m penalty to Greenpeace if the Dutch state does not control nitrogen deposition in 50% of sensitive natural areas by 2030.
Dutch nitrogen emissions per hectare are the highest in Europe.
Bringing the case, Greenpeace said the government was not doing enough to lower illegally high levels of nitrogen oxide emissions caused by intensive farming and heavy use of fertilisers, as well as traffic and construction in the densely populated Netherlands.
The environmental organisation's court win is likely to encourage the emerging trend of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) court claims around the impact on society and the environment of businesses, and how transparent and accountable the businesses are.
It is anticipated that biodiversity claims, like Greenpeace's in the Netherlands, are likely to grow rapidly, although the EU's recent weakening of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, may interrupt the trend.
The Greenpeace ruling is also significant in demonstrating the willingness of the courts in the Netherlands to attach penalties to government failure to reach statutory targets.
Effectively, the court is taking on the country's new government set up last June, led by the far-right Party for Freedom, which gained the most general election votes.
With the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) as part of the coalition government, and getting the housing and agriculture ministries, the new government scrapped the national nature restoration plan, and the nitrogen emissions policy. It is unclear how the new government intends to achieve the goals for climate, nature, nitrogen, and water.
The court threat of a €10m fine might bring some urgency, but agriculture minister Femke Wiersma said she was disappointed by the court ruling and was considering an appeal.
"We take the nitrogen problem very seriously," she said. "But we can't ask the impossible of people and companies."
It could be a stumbling block for the already fragile government coalition, which brought welcome relief for Dutch farmers who mounted large protests after the previous government in 2022 laid out targets for reducing nitrogen pollution in some areas by up to 70% by 2030.
The nitrogen problem has plagued the Netherlands for years following rulings in 2018 by the European Court of Justice and in 2019 by the Netherlands Council of State that Dutch policies were failing to address it.
Now, yet another court ruling has ordered the government to drastically cut nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands by 2030, in a ruling that could hurt construction and will pressure farmers to reduce livestock.
The court in The Hague said the government clearly failed to comply with European regulations to preserve vulnerable nature reserves and cut excessive emissions of nitrogen oxides and ammonia,.
It ordered the government to meet its target of reducing the emissions to legally allowed levels in 50% of all affected nature reserves by 2030, or be fined €10m. This is seen as a significant legal milestone in biodiversity and ESG litigation.
Excess nitrogen from agricultural practices and factory and vehicle emissions is blamed for causing soil degradation, and inadvertent fertilisation of nitrogen-tolerant species.
Greenpeace said their court win showed the government's nitrogen approach is inadequate, and must be changed. The organisation said measures will most likely be taken that affect farmers.
It said there will be room for a real vision of the future if the government opts for a necessary transition to sustainable agriculture with fewer animals.
It said farmers are indispensable in a future-proof food system, but Greenpeace strives for a world of more small-scale farms with fewer animals, in which farmers and consumers control the food chain, instead of large corporations.
Greenpeace said supermarkets must stop pressuring farmers to compete at the lowest price. "In this way, the decline of the peasantry can be reversed".
The organisation said there are no strict plans yet to force other major Dutch polluters such as Tata Steel and Schiphol to reduce their nitrogen emissions, and it supports farmers in their plea that all sectors should contribute.
Greenpeace said the government and banks must support the transition to sustainable agriculture, such as organic farming. It condemned false hope for technological solutions that only drive up farming, saying techniques such as low-emission barn floors do not have the desired effect.
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