Eindhoven Airport and Rotterdam Airport emit too much nitrogen. This is the ruling given by a judge. The airports do not have the correct permit for this and additional measures must be put in place to reduce emissions.
In 2020, the government recognised that airports need a separate nature permit because of nitrogen oxide emissions, which have harmful effects on nature. Despite the recognition, Eindhoven Airport and Rotterdam The Hague Airport still do not have the necessary permits.
Extra measures
For this reason, the nature organisation Mobilisation for the Environment (MOB) and SchipholWatch went to court. MOB requested the minister to take steps against the emissions, such as reducing the number of flights. According to the agriculture minister, this was not necessary because other, national measures were being taken against nitrogen emissions. However, the court ruled that those national measures were not concrete enough and could not compensate for emissions from the airports. Thus, the court believes that additional measures are necessary.
New decision
The court requires the minister to look at the issue again and make a new decision. There are no short-term consequences for Eindhoven Airport. The minister can still appeal. The court case was also against Schiphol Airport, but the ruling did not apply to them. This is because they do have the correct licence. Eindhoven Airport also applied for the licence in 2020, but it has still not been granted.
Source: Studio040
Translated by Chaitali Sengupta
