Farms to Courts: An Overview of the Dutch Nitrogen Crisis

On 22 January 2025, the District Court of The Hague ordered the Government of the Netherlands to adopt effective nitrogen reduction measures to ensure that at least half of nitrogen-sensitive nature areas fall below critical deposition thresholds by 2030, and warned the state of a €10 million penalty if it failed to comply¹.

This decision highlighted what has long been evident. The Netherlands is facing long-standing and complex challenges with nitrogen emissions, and despite the issue being recognised for decades, progress has been slow and politically contentious, with different governments approaching the issue with different attitudes. 

Now, the October 2025 House of Representatives elections has ushered in a stronger mandate for the centre-left D66 which has promised strong steps to deal with environmental issues in the country. It remains to be seen if the future government can break out of the socio-political deadlock and deliver lasting policy solutions to deal with the nitrogen crisis in the Netherlands. 

A History of Nitrogen Pollution in the Netherlands. 

The history of nitrogen emission in the Netherlands is closely tied to its geography, agricultural development, and energy use. Post–World War II policies prioritised food security and exports, making the Netherlands one of the most productive and intensive agricultural systems in Europe, especially in dairy, pigs, and horticulture. 

This development has had divergent consequences; on one hand, the Netherlands has risen to be one of the largest food producers in the European Union (EU), and the second-largest exporter of agricultural products of any country in the world². On the other hand, this growth has produced high ammonia (NH₃) emissions from manure and fertiliser use, coupled with nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) from transport and industry. As a result, according to a 2014 European Environmental Agency report, the Netherlands has the second-highest nitrogen balance per hectare (or surplus) in Europe, with an average gross balance of more than two times the European average of 68.³

A History of Policies introduced, rebuked, and improvised.

As farming expanded, the environmental movement in the Netherlands gained ground, pushing ministries of agriculture and environment to introduce measures to curtail pollution, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s when water pollution and acidification became visible public issues. Over time, nitrogen (especially from ammonia and nitrates) also emerged as a challenge. 

As a result, since the 1980s, Dutch governments have introduced different policies to tackle their nitrogen surplus. The earliest structural effort was the ‘Manure Quota System (Mestwetgeving)’, introduced in 1984, which required farmers to hold rights to produce specific quantities of manure. This policy was expanded into the ‘Mineral Accounting System (MINAS)’ in the 1990s, obliging farmers to record nutrient surpluses and pay levies if they exceeded legal limits⁴. Although MINAS was eventually struck down by the European Court of Justice in 2003 for conflicting with the EU Nitrates Directive, it laid the foundation for stricter farm-level controls⁵.  

In parallel, the government promoted technological fixes and voluntary schemes to cut emissions.  Farmers were rewarded for using low-emission housing, adjusting livestock, and improving manure storage and spreading. These measures cut ammonia emissions by nearly 70% between 1990 and 2015⁶, but progress then stalled because herd sizes remained extremely high, meaning critical nitrogen loads in many Natura 2000 sites were still exceeded.

In 2015, the government introduced the ‘Programma Aanpak Stikstof (PAS)’, to balance economic development with ecological restoration by granting permits for construction and farm expansion on the condition that plater technical fixes, habitat projects or future emission cuts would offset added nitrogen⁷. The system collapsed in 2019 when the Dutch Council of State ruled it incompatible with the EU Habitats Directive, since it allowed ongoing ecological deterioration without guaranteed recovery⁸. The ruling suspended thousands of building and farming projects, from housing and roadworks to farm expansions, leaving municipalities unable to issue licenses, infrastructure investments stalled, and agricultural projects were put on indefinite hold.

To fix these gaps, the government introduced ‘The Dutch Nitrogen Reduction and Nature Restoration Law’, setting binding nitrogen ceilings with mandated restoration of Natura 2000 areas, combined with voluntary buy-out schemes for high-emitting farms. The European Commission approved 1.47 billion Euros in state aid in 2023 for targeted closures in hotspot areas⁹ and in 2024, a further €105 million to support smaller farms relocate or cease operations in nitrogen-overloaded regions^10.

A History of political and social contention. 

Despite efforts of multiple governments to mitigate this issue, the Netherlands has not managed to control nitrogen emissions, since the problem is deeply structural and politically contested.  The issue also became a victim of political fragmentation. Many farmers and allied political groups frame the nitrogen problem as government overreach. Laws made to mitigate emissions directly cut across the existing rural-urban divide, and increased resentment in farming communities who felt targeted while cities and industry carried on growing. This perception of unequal burden deepened distrust in government institutions and fed a growing sense of cultural alienation in the countryside. This sentiment amongst the rural communities propelled the rise of the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) and the strengthening of Geert Wilders’ Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV), which transformed nitrogen from a regulatory challenge into an ideological one. Coalition governments, dependent on these parties or their voters, softened or delayed targets such as the 2025 proposal to push the 2030 deadline to 2035, only to be challenged in court¹¹. 

Businesses should now look forward to a renewed impetus for nitrogen emission policy following the 29 October 2025 general election in the Netherlands. The centrist progressive party Democrats '66 (D66) made major gains and appeared poised to lead the next government. The next government is now likely to push for ambitious reductions, such as halving nitrogen loads by 2030 and curbing intensive livestock farming at the source. In contrast, the right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV), which had campaigned heavily on delaying or watering down the nitrogen emissions, suffered a setback, and it is now less likely to be involved in a government-forming coalition. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, the Netherlands’ nitrogen crisis is not the result of a single failed policy but of decades of political indecision, structural dependence on intensive farming, and repeated legal setbacks. Successive governments introduced manure quotas, accounting systems, technical fixes, and buy-outs, yet none were sustained or strong enough to deliver lasting reductions. The Dutch government will be required to work together with farmers and rural groups to design solutions together, using fairer ways to measure both emissions and deposition, and focusing first on restoring the most damaged areas. Clear targets, a predictable timeline, and reliable compensation will be necessary to solve the issue of nitrogen emissions.