Netherlands to Cut Speed Limits to Curb Pollution
Netherlands to Cut Speed Limits to Reduce Nitrogen Emissions
(Bloomberg) --
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s coalition government plans to lower daytime speed limits on Dutch highways in response to a court ruling on nitrogen pollution that halted construction projects and led to protests from farmers and builders.
Under the plan, the maximum speed will be lowered to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) during the day, said the government, which is also trying to encourage farms to raise fewer pigs to reduce nitrogen emissions. Drivers will still be able to drive on some roads at higher speeds between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.
In May, the highest administrative court in the Netherlands invalidated the way permits for construction projects close to designated natural areas accounted for nitrogen deposits, saying the system breached European rules. Farmers and builders used separate protests in The Hague to ask lawmakers for measures to shield them from the effects of the ruling.
Agriculture is the biggest single contributor to nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands, and farmers are concerned about government measures that would threaten their livelihoods.
The Dutch government will expand a subsidy program to entice farmers to stop raising pigs, increasing the budget by 60 million euros to 180 million euros. The government also proposes a reduction in protein content in livestock feed, with the aim of cutting ammonia emissions from manure.
“We have to take action because nobody wants the Netherlands to be locked down while there is a great need for new roads and houses,” Rutte told reporters in The Hague. This package of measures offers scope to permit for the construction of around 75,000 homes next year and infrastructure projects, according to the government.
As part of the measures, the Dutch government proposes an emergency law that “ensures that major projects in the field of coastal protection, water and road safety can continue”.
--With assistance from Joost Akkermans and Rudy Ruitenberg.
To contact the reporters on this story: John Hermse in The Hague at jhermse@bloomberg.net;Ellen Proper in Amsterdam at eproper@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Andrew Blackman, Iain Rogers
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