The Flemish government has reached a new agreement on nitrogen emissions. After many hours of talks and many months of disagreement among the parties that make up the Flemish coalition, agreement was finally reach at around 2am on Tuesday. As soon as the Flemish deputy prime ministers and the other negotiators had given the text the thumbs up the Flemish Prime Minister Jan Jambon (nationalist) convened an online cabinet meeting to get the backing of the other ministers in the Flemish Government.
Home News
Flemish government reaches agreement on nitrogen emissions
Published:
The VRT’s pollical editor Johny Vansevenant says that the text of the new agreement is much more lenient towards farmers than the previous proposed measures that were opposed by the Flemish Christian democrats.
The Flemish government has made several attempts to reach agreement on measures to reduce nitrogen emissions in recent years, but each time it was sent back to the drawing board. The government parties could not agree on the rules on nitrogen emission permits for agriculture and industry. Any bill would require the support of all three coalition parties and have to be able to stand the test of any legal challenges that might be made to it.
During the past few days ministers once again tried a to find a way out of the impasse. Agreement was finally reached on Monday night and lawyers then went through the text of the agreement again to iron any legal loose ends. The new agreement should halve nitrogen emissions by 2030.
Why is an agreement needed?
· Flanders is emitting too much nitrogen. This is bad for nature and for people.
· The new rules should curb this and provide a legal framework to regulate emission levels. How this is to be done was a source of discord the Flemish Government.
· The nationalists and the liberals submitted a nitrogen bill to the Flemish Parliament last summer. Their Christian democrat coalition partners refused to back the bill.
· The Council of State was also critical of the bill as it did not always provide enough detail.
· No bill would mean the threat of a permit freeze for businesses and individuals.
What is in the agreement?
So-called “red farms” from which a lot of nitrogen is deposited in nearby nature areas will no longer have to close automatically. Under previous proposals they would have had to by 2030; Now they will get second chance. They will be allowed to stay open if they seriously reduce their nitrogen emissions.
Chicken and pig farmers, for instance, can do so by using air scrubbers that remove nitrogen from the air. However, installing these involves a large capital investment. Compensation will be provided for famers taking measures to reduce emissions.
The difference between permit thresholds for industry and agriculture with a stricter threshold for agriculture will be maintained. A clear scientific explanation of the criteria on which the emissions thresholds are based will be given in the text of the bill.
The so-called "impermissibility threshold" will be scrapped. Companies that exceed the defined emission threshold can still apply for a permit. They will be subject to an individual assessment. However, it is not the intention for every company should carry out a full environmental impact study numbering hundreds of pages.
External offsetting will also have a place in the agreement. That system allows a farmer to take over emission rights from another farmer who has quit. This will be possible from January 2025, subject to a favourable assessment and an environmental study showing that this will not jeopardise the proposed reduction target. A circular to be sent to the Nature and Woodland Agency will cover the intervening period. The circular will allow for a case-by-case assessment of each external offsetting request.
There is also a solution for the Turnhouts Vennen nature reserve in Antwerp Province. There the nitrogen issues are so acute that a strict lock on development of any kind has been imposed on the area. This will now be shelved and now the area will be subject to the same generic reduction levels as in the rest of Flanders.
Now, the focus for complying with the European conservation objective is very much on nitrogen and nitrogen deposits. The Flemish Government also intends to ask the EU to take into account the specific situation in our region when imposing emission reduction target.