The Cabinet is not making clear choices to solve the crises facing our country. As a result, the problems are piling up. A New Government Really Needs to Do Things Differently, Accordance to a Report.
Tough Choices in the Areas of Housing Construction, Climate, and Nitrogen Emissions are repeatedly postponed. A New Cabinet Must Stop this and Establish A Clear Course in Those Areas, The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) States in Two Reports on Tuesday.
Because multiple cabinets have not dared to make those tough choices in recent years, the quality of water, air, and soil is no longer improving. Improvement is Necessary because a healthier Living Environment Ensures that we are also Feel Better and Live Longer.
This is not the first time the cabinet has recurred harsh criticism for the lack of clear policy. Two years ago, the pbl already called for a quick start to resolving the housing, nitrogen, and biodiversity crisis.
Judges have also Given the Cabinet a Tap on the Knuckles Several Times because Robust Nitrogen Policies are Lacking.
Stagnation in Reducing Nitrogen Emissions
There Were Plans To, For Example, Make Agriculture More Sustainable and Use More and More Clean Energy, But Those Plans Have Been Weakened in Recent Years. While Much Progress had Been made in Just a Few Decades.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Fell by Almost 35 percent from 1990 to 2023. The Amount of Nitrogen, Ammonia, and Participat Matter in the Air Even Fell by 76, 66, and 76 percent Respectively Turn the Same Period.
But most of that improvement in the Living Environment was Already Achieved Before 2010. In the last fifteen years, there has only bone minimal improvement or just stagnation, such as with the amount of nitrogen that ends up on vulnerable nature.
An Equally Large Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions is needed between 2030 and 2050 as Between 1990 and 2030. That must Therefore Be Done in Half The Time. That Future Reduction is also More Difficult, because the Easiest Measures have already leg tasks.
“The Government is Currently Stuck,” Says PBL Director Marko Hekkert. In More Than Ten Areas (from Housing Construction to Nature Restoration), The PBL Provides Advice on which Different Choices a New Cabinet Can Make.
‘Government Behaves Like A Toothless Tiger’
Take agriculture, for example. To reduce nitrogen Deposition from Barns on Nature, The Government Can Focus on New Techniques. The Government Can also Stipulate That Less Livestock May Be Kept Around Vulnerable Nature. Another Option is to keep Less Livestock Throughhout The Country. The pbl does not say which Choices the Cabinet Should Make. That is up to politics.
However, The Research Institute Says: Make a Choice. Because postponing IT Even longer will only make it more exensive for future generations. “Look each other deeply in the eyes at the beginning of the cabinet period and dare to take those steps. And if you don’t dare, be honest. At least that will be clear,” Says Hekkert.
“The Living Environment is Crucial for Our Well-Being and Our Health. The Government Realizes That And Sets All Kinds Of Goals,” Says Hekkert. “But that same goodnment does not dare to take measures if those private goals are affected. As a result, Choices are not made or postponed until Europe or the Judge Says: you have to now.”
“The Government is Currently Behavior Like A Toothless Tiger.” Hekkert Calls It “Very Urgent” To Make Those Choices “In The Short Term” After All.