It was a lesson in humility, says Flemish minister Zuhal Demir. A few years ago, Demir, Minister of Justice and Enforcement, Environment, Energy and Tourism, was given the task in the cabinet on behalf of the Flemish nationalist party N-VA to solve the nitrogen problem in Flanders.
“The nitrogen dossier is the longest-lasting environmental dossier in Flanders ever and has been haunting us for years,” says Demir on the phone. On Monday evening, the Flemish government reached an agreement that also appears to be legally acceptable – after three years. “It was an emergency landing,” says Demir.
She means: she would have preferred to see it differently, but the sharp edges of her nitrogen approach have been filed off. In Flanders too, farmers will not be forced to stop their business, although this was initially the intention.
Also read
The agricultural sector is not enthusiastic about buying out, farmers boycott the site that shows whether they belong to peak loaders
Legally complicated
But the plans turned out to be “legally complicated,” Demir now says. The forty largest emitters do not have to stop if they manage to halve their emissions by 2030, the Flemish government writes in the agreement. “But this will be very difficult for them,” Demir emphasizes.
For example, farmers can apply innovative techniques in their stables that reduce emissions, but it must be proven that the devices do what they promise. A scientific committee will look at this per farm, she says. In the Netherlands, scientific studies have shown in recent years that innovative solutions often yield lower returns than promised.
Another option is for these farmers to keep fewer animals, says Demir. The number of animals will then have to be significantly reduced. “That will no longer be an interesting business model for them.”
The emissions threshold is off the table, which also turned out to be legally untenable. Farmers are allowed to expand provided they can demonstrate in advance through an environmental study that nature will not be burdened additionally. Here too, each farm is examined separately.
The nitrogen problem in Flanders is reminiscent of the problems in the Netherlands and started in the same way. Two years ago, a Belgian environmental club appealed against the expansion of a poultry farmer in the village of Kortesem. He wants to keep double the number of chickens, around 180,000, but could not prove that this expansion would not put an additional burden on nearby nature reserves.
Let it slide
The judge also used the lawsuit to let Flanders know that it had neglected its nitrogen approach for years and had done nothing to reduce emissions. What turned out was that more nitrogen was deposited in more than three-quarters of the vulnerable nature reserves – 61 in total – than is allowed under European rules. Flanders makes up a third of the Dutch land area and around 40 million farm animals are kept there.
A tough approach, in which farmers were not spared, was intended to avert the nitrogen crisis. Has this approach failed? “Not at all,” says Demir. The 2030 deadline has not been tampered with, she says. Half of the nature reserves must then meet European standards. And the shrinkage of the pig herd, 30 percent fewer pigs in 2030, also remains intact. Just like the ban on spreading manure.
Also read
In addition to the 2,500 known farmers, thousands of other agricultural companies may also emit nitrogen illegally
From 2030, the Flemish government wants to expand its nitrogen approach to a broader approach that goes beyond reducing nitrogen emissions and also takes into account drought and water problems.
“We are a lot further along than the Netherlands,” says Demir. She hopes that the nitrogen approach in Flanders will start in 2024. “The Netherlands is still completely nowhere in terms of nitrogen approach.”