Dutch farmers want largest demonstration of all time today – climate protectors are also protesting EU and US against supporters of Russia – the nightly update without photos

The Netherlands is preparing for a large protest by farmers and citizens this Saturday. Tens of thousands of people want to protest in The Hague against planned environmental rules for agriculture, among other things. The radical farmers’ organization “Farmers Defense Force” called for the “biggest demonstration of all time”.

This time it should not only be about protests against environmental rules. Right-wing populist parties, especially the extreme right Geert Wilders, want to use the stage to call for resistance against the government. In addition, the movement of the former Corona opponents “Together for the Netherlands” mobilized their supporters.

A demo on climate protection is also planned

In return, the radical climate protectionists of Extinction Rebellion also announced a protest in The Hague. They want to block an exit. The measures to protect the climate do not go far enough for them.

The authorities are concerned about violence. Farmers across the country protested for weeks last year. They blocked highways with tractors, set fires or dumped waste, manure and asbestos on the streets. They also threatened politicians in front of their private homes.

The reason for the farmers’ protests are the announced conditions for the protection of nature areas. Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centre-right coalition wants to drastically reduce nitrogen emissions by 2030. The reason for this decision was a ruling by the highest court in 2019. The cabinet estimates that the measures could spell the end for about 30 percent of agricultural companies.

The owners of some 3,000 farms, which pollute the soil the most near endangered natural areas, must be persuaded to sell them or at least drastically reduce their livestock. But expropriations are also possible. “We have no choice,” says minister Christianne van der Wal, responsible for nitrogen policy. “Nature can’t wait.”

Just like in Germany, groundwater and soil in the Netherlands are highly polluted. According to the German Federal Environmental Agency, excess nitrogen from agricultural sources ends up in ground and surface water as nitrate and in the air as ammonia and nitrous oxide. As a highly effective ⁠greenhouse gas⁠, nitrous oxide contributes to global warming. When excess nitrogen is washed out of the soil by rain, it ends up in the groundwater as nitrate. The result: to extract drinking water from it, the water has to be purified at great expense. The nitrogen also ends up in lakes, rivers and seas.

Livestock farms are the biggest culprits in the Netherlands. And the agricultural sector is huge, one of the largest exporters in the world. Last year, Dutch farmers exported 122 billion euros worth of goods.

For years, environmental pollution was tolerated or legalized with exceptions, although limit values ​​were exceeded. Time and again loopholes were found in order not to limit agricultural production. The government now admits that this was a mistake.

The ruling of the highest court in 2019 had major consequences: All projects that release nitrogen may not be approved. This means that the construction of homes and roads will come to a standstill, industry will not be able to expand and even the energy transition will be jeopardized. “The major restructuring of agriculture is inevitable,” said Minister Van der Wal. The reason for this is not only conservation, but also climate change.

But the farmers demand prospects for the future and believe that politics has let them down. They also question the necessity of the measures.

The nitrogen problem also shows how polarized the country is. It also dominates the current election campaign. On March 15, the Dutch elect their provincial parliaments, and they also determine the composition of the first chamber of parliament (similar to the Bundesrat). According to polls, a clear shift to the right is imminent, with the protest party Bauer-Bürger-Movement the big winner. But the coalition is threatening a huge setback and may not be able to continue its plans. (sda/dpa)