On July 4th, 2022, Georgian-language Facebook published a post claiming that the Dutch government decided to reduce the number of livestock in the country by 70-95% under the pretext of reducing nitrogen oxide, giving the farmers an ultimatum to kill the livestock or move it to another country. The post is accompanied by an English-language story by Euronews, which refers to the decision taken by the government to reduce nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands.
The claim that the Dutch government has decided to reduce the number of livestock in the country by 70-95% is false. The content of the viral post does not correspond to the content of the “Euronews” story. In fact, the Dutch government decided to reduce nitrogen emissions by 70-95%, not from livestock, which also affects the number of livestock. However, the government does not require farmers to slaughter them.
In June 2022, the government of the Netherlands announced the necessary measures to be taken against climate change and presented a plan to reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides in the country drastically. According to the new mandate, nitrogen emissions in some regions should be reduced by 70% and in certain regions by 95%. The article and story by Euronews present this very information.
Notably, 41% of nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands are attributed to the agricultural sector, specifically farms. The government’s goal is to reduce nitrogen emissions in the country by 50% by 2030, not only in the agricultural sector. For this purpose, in about 131 regions of the country, nitrogen emissions should be reduced in different amounts. To meet the plan, it is expected that a reduction of 30–33% of the total number of livestock in the Netherlands will be necessary, not 70-90%. The government does not ask farmers to slaughter the livestock. Changes to reduce nitrogen emissions should be implemented gradually. According to Rudi Buis, the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Netherlands, local governments must develop and submit detailed plans to reduce nitrogen emissions within a year.
According to the estimation of the Dutch government, it is expected that up to 11200 farms would close. The government allocated 24.3 billion EUR to help farmers during the transition period, but the government’s decision on the plan to reduce nitrogen emissions was met with farmers’ dissatisfaction and protests.
In agriculture, nitrogen and hydrogen compound (ammonia) is produced by mixing manure and urine. Getting this mixture into water channels, rivers, and the sea harms the environment. Nitrogen oxides are mainly produced by the burning of fossil fuels. Transport, aviation and marine industries also contribute to the emission of nitrogen oxides. The Netherlands plans to reduce nitrogen emissions in areas other than the agricultural sector. Emission reduction requirements will also apply to Amsterdam Airport, Rotterdam Port and road transport.
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