Dutch government ordered to cut nitrogen pollution — or face €10M fine

By Bartosz Brzeziński | 01/22/2025 01:02 PM EST

Greenpeace’s victory means that Prime Minister Dick Schoof must achieve emission reduction targets by 2030 or face the penalty.

Four members of the environmental organization Greenpeace wearing bright green jackets stand next to a large yellow banner hung on the temporary House of Representatives in The Hague.

Greenpeace members stand next to a banner hung on the temporary House of Representatives in The Hague on Sept. 14, 2021, in order to draw attention to the government's nitrogen policy. Robin van Lonkhuijsen/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

BRUSSELS — A Dutch court Wednesday ruled that Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s government must ramp up efforts to cut nitrogen pollution in protected nature areas, handing Greenpeace Netherlands a significant legal win.

The verdict requires the Schoof administration to ensure that at least half of the country’s most vulnerable habitats fall below harmful nitrogen thresholds by 2030 — or pay a €10 million penalty. The fine is small change for a national government, but the ruling adds fresh pressure on The Hague to tackle a problem that has dogged multiple administrations.

Schoof’s team, in office since June 2024, slashed a €24.3 billion transition fund set up by predecessor Mark Rutte that was originally intended to buy out polluting farms and support sustainability efforts. Instead, the new, right-wing Cabinet shifted its focus to technological solutions and voluntary measures, aiming to reduce emissions without stoking rural unrest.

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The court, however, insisted that without tangible financial and regulatory measures — especially targeting agriculture, transport and industry — the government risks further damage to nature and noncompliance with European Union environmental laws.

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