Livestock numbers must be cut by 75% to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Dutch Party for the Animals (PvdD/Greens) states in its election programme for the upcoming national elections, as tensions over the issue simmer between the outgoing cabinet and farmers.
On Tuesday, the party presented its ambitious election programme with a proposal to reduce livestock numbers for environmental reasons.
“The livestock industry is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases and the cause of the nature crisis. It leads to pollution of our groundwater, […], health damage for local residents, loss of fertile soils, deforestation and a greater risk of another pandemic,” the party programme reads.
“With a reduction of at least 75% in the number of animals in the livestock industry, we address all these problems simultaneously,” the party programme adds.
As EU regulations oblige the Netherlands to decrease its nitrogen emissions, consecutive governments have called for the agricultural sector to reduce its number of livestock to comply with the bloc’s threshold for nitrogen pollution – much to the dismay of farmers.
In May, a proposed limit of 2.5 – 3 cows per hectare had thrown a wrench in negotiations on an Agricultural Accord between the Dutch cabinet and farmers’ representatives, who were looking to agree on a joint roadmap for the sector’s future. Negotiations ultimately fell through later in June.
At the time, negotiators expected that a 25‐30% decrease in livestock would be necessary to come to an agreement ‐ a much lower number than what the PvdD demands in its programme.
Besides the radical call to reduce livestock numbers, the party also called for the creation of a Ministry of Climate and Biodiversity and the revocation of the licences of large polluting companies – an area where Dutch executives also have a bad track record.
(Benedikt Stöckl | EURACTIV.com)
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