Wednesday, 3 May 2023

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CLIMATE IN THE NEWS

The Dutch are all in farm buyouts to slash nitrogen emissions

EU okays Dutch plan to buy out emission-spewing farms: The European Commission has approved two plans by the Netherlands to buy out livestock farmers in a bid to slash nitrogen emissions, Bloomberg reports. The Dutch government is allocating EUR 1.47 bn to buy out farmers who voluntarily shut down their farms in accordance with the country’s efforts to slash nitrogen emissions by 2030 in a bid to calm farmers who have been protesting.

An agricultural powerhouse no more? The Netherlands is one of the world’s largest exporters of agricultural products with estimated exports of EUR 122.3 bn, according to the business information service. However, mns of livestock in the country’s farms generate alarming levels of nitrogen emissions from their waste, contributing around 41% of the country’s nitrogen emissions, the Financial Times reported last year, citing Dutch public health agency studies.

Not the first to upset the cows: France’s Danone said earlier this year that it is taking steps to lower its methane emissions, with possible solutions including a face mask that could trap gas produced by burping cows — the latest in a series of unintentionally comical measures put forward to reduce methane emissions from livestock. It has also considered altering cow diets to include algae that can prevent methane from forming in the stomach.