D66 members Jan Paternotte and Tjeerd de Groot have spoken out strongly about comments made on Tuesday evening by agriculture minister Piet Adema (CU) about the nitrogen targets. At a meeting with farmers in the Frisian town of Drachten, Adema had said that he does not want to stick to a halving of nitrogen emissions by 2030, “not dogmatically”. reported newspaper Fidelity Wednesday. The minister must “take back his words”, wrote De Groot on Twitter. “Get started with what you have been appointed for.”
Party leader of D66 Jan Paternotte writes that statements such as Adema’s are the reason that ‘we have a nitrogen crisis’: ‘politicians who talk to farmers instead of being honest about what is necessary’. He calls conclusions about the nitrogen targets of scientists and Johan Remkes “crystal clear” about the necessity of halving emissions by 2030. “Let the minister get to work on this like the wiedeweerga.”
The coalition agreement states that the halving of nitrogen emissions must be achieved by 2030. In recent months, farmers’ organizations have turned against the government’s nitrogen plans. That is why Johan Remkes was brought in as a discussion leader between the farmers and the cabinet. He recently issued his advice, stating, among other things, that the target for halving nitrogen emissions is ‘for the time being’ by 2030, but that there will be two interim measurement moments in 2025 and 2028 to determine whether this is feasible.
‘Happy with the nuance’
Minister Adema felt that the conclusions that Remkes presented in mid-October left room for his own interpretation – he is “happy with the nuance”. “It should be clear: we are on the right track, but we have not yet made it. Then Remkes says that you should not be dogmatic – that it may also be 2032, ’33 or ’34.”
At the end of August, a quarrel arose within the cabinet when Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra (CDA) in an interview with daily newspaper AD argued for a new start of the nitrogen process, ‘without dogmas’. He called the 2030 target “not sacred”. Nitrogen minister Christianne van der Wal (VVD) said at the time that it touched her, “if you are so committed to a file and then read such an interview”. Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD) found Hoekstra’s public disapproval of the coalition agreement difficult, but “just doable under constitutional law” because Hoekstra is also a CDA leader in addition to being a minister.
Also read: Major quarrel in cabinet after statements Hoekstra
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