Greenpeace lawsuit forces Netherlands government to slash nitrogen emissions by 2030

A Dutch court has sided with Greenpeace and ordered the Netherlands government to drastically reduce nitrogen emissions by 2030 in a lawsuit that could significantly affect farmers, construction projects, and the country’s fragile ruling coalition.

In its ruling on January 22, the court said government policies had failed to comply with European regulations protecting biodiversity in vulnerable nature reserves. 

Excessive nitrogen oxide and ammonia emissions from farming, fertilizers, traffic, and construction have damaged water quality and threatened local ecosystems.

Prime Minister Dick Schoof now faces mounting pressure to enact swift environmental reforms. 

His coalition includes Geert Wilders Freedom Party and the Farmer–Citizen Movement (FCM), which rose to prominence by opposing nitrogen restrictions. 

Critics fear this already unstable partnership may fracture under the weight of the new court order.

Under the ruling, the government must bring emissions to legally permitted levels in at least 50% of affected nature reserves by 2030. 

If it fails, the court has threatened a 10 million Euros fine ($15 million CDN).

Agriculture Minister Femke Wiersma, a member of the FCM, said she was disappointed by the court’s decision and is considering an appeal. 

“We take the nitrogen problem very seriously,” Wiersma wrote on Twitter/X. 

“But we can’t ask the impossible of people and companies.”

Large-scale protests by farmers erupted in previous years when the government proposed buying out livestock operations to curb emissions. 

Meanwhile, construction has slowed because courts consistently block major projects until the nitrogen problem is resolved.

The Netherlands has faced this challenge since 2018, when the European Court of Justice ruled that its measures were inadequate. 

A similar verdict from the Netherlands Council of State in 2019 further constrained construction projects.

Though a previous government set targets to cut nitrogen pollution by up to 70% in some areas, many initiatives were scrapped under the current administration. 

The court’s latest ruling stated these measures “were already largely insufficient” and called the government’s lack of action unlawful.