The nitrogen crisis is a crisis that arose in the Netherlands in 2019 when permit applications for an estimated 18,000 construction and infrastructure projects were halted. According to the construction companies, 27,000 jobs could be lost.
The crisis arose when, on 29 May 2019, the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State issued two decisions about the Nitrogen Approach Program (PAS). According to this ruling, the PAS could not be used for granting permits that caused extra precipitation of nitrogen compounds in the Natura 2000 areas.
The Council established that the permit procedure lacked an ecological test that would be necessary to confirm the effect of the promised measures to compensate for nitrogen emissions. A direct consequence was that building permits could no longer be granted on the basis of the PAS.
The environmental background of the crisis is the nitrogen problem, which affects the whole world, but also to a large extent in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, the soil is burdened by a very high application of nitrogen compounds, in particular NH3, or ammonia, in the form of animal manure.
In addition, nitrogen oxides (NOx) are emitted by combustion engines, such as in motor vehicles and in industry. Human activities that release nitrogen compounds in large quantities lead to problems with ecosystems on land, in water and in the sea.
Own strict requirements
The crisis arose in 2019, but was certainly not new. The first European standards were already established in 1991. Europe does not set any requirements for nitrogen deposition, Member States do that themselves. These are required to comply with the Habitats Directive, which states that the Natura 2000 areas must strive for a ‘favourable conservation status’. The Netherlands has set very strict standards for this, stricter than in other European countries.
To resolve the long-term situation (until 2030), a committee headed by Johan Remkes was set up: this Remkes committee released its final report on June 8, 2020, “Not everything is possible everywhere”. In this she advised to reduce national ammonia and NOx emissions by 50 percent compared to 2019. The ammonia target will have to be higher in certain areas, close to nature reserves.