Nitrogen is the main component of the atmosphere. In nature it is found in the gaseous state and is inert, colourless and odourless; the air we breathe is 80% nitrogen. In mammals, this element, which is naturally present in food, is not absorbed in metabolic processes. When combined with four molecules of hydrogen, one of oxygen and one of carbon, nitrogen becomes urea and is
excreted by the excretory system.

Nitrogen (chemical letter N), is the basis of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia (NH3). The former originates from combustion processes: from industrial activities, endothermic engines, and boilers. In the Italian Po Valley, one of the most polluted areas in the world, nitrogen oxides are the cause of the grey haze that can be seen in the lower layers of the sky. Ammonia, instead, is the intermediate chemical produced from methane, from which the bulk of agricultural fertilizers is derived.

The problem is that both ammonia and nitrogen dioxides are toxic compounds. On a local level, they impact ecosystems and water supplies, while on a global scale, nitrous oxide (N2O) is an extremely climate-altering and persistent greenhouse gas. This molecule has much longer degradation times than carbon dioxide and methane, the. Protoxide emissions are mostly from agricultural and livestock activities.

It is precisely on this last point that the Netherlands’ nitrogen crisis is rooted.

Despite its small size, the Netherlands is the leading agricultural exporter in Europe and the second worldwide after the United States. The reason for this performance, net of institutional and cultural factors, lies in the fact that Dutch agriculture is based on intensive greenhouse or field crops that use large amounts of chemical fertilizers. In addition to this, huge emissions originate from the large livestock sector in the Netherlands, which naturally produces nitrogen-based waste since cows also have their needs.

As part of the European Union’s climate strategy, the Dutch agro-livestock sector is one of the priorities for action. The target set by the Rutte government at the urging of Brussels in December 2021 is to reduce the number of cows in the country by one-third, and, conversely, reduce fertilizer use, with the goal of halving nitrogen emissions by 2030. In concrete terms, farms are expected to close, with the consequences one can imagine.

The agricultural party (BBB) has politicized the issue, and in the recent provincial elections that determine the composition of the lower house, it won a relative majority of about 20% of the vote. The proposal, to put it simply, is to block the “green” conversion of the sectors under consideration, prioritizing socio-economic goals over environmental and climate ones. An eco-social conflict is outlined in these terms.

Indeed, as extensively studied in the literature, economic activities, both industrial and primary, have their roots in the exploitation of natural resources and, in the medium to long term, lead to the dismantling of the bio-chemical conditions necessary for social reproduction. A steel mill, refinery, and combustion power plant generate cancers in workers and the surrounding population. Intensive livestock farms and fertilizer use deplete the land and reduce biodiversity. Both macro-sectors, namely primary industry and livestock, emit huge amounts of greenhouse gases.

The point is that climate and environmental policies, by affecting polluting economic activities and thus the wages that stem from them, generate distributional conflicts, i.e., conflicts related to the distribution of resources in a given context. At the policy level, the quantitative targets set by the European Commission have a disruptive effect on territories and the local level.

Should the discontent generated by these “innovative disruptions” be politicized, it is then likely that climate and environmental goals will give way to issues perceived with greater cogency, such as those related to one’s economic activities and finding one’s livelihood. This is exactly what has happened in the Netherlands, with the BBB acting as a voice for the discontent of a significant sector of Dutch society.

In the face of these conflicts, which undermine the achievement of the goals set out in the European Green Deal related to combating climate change, and which are expected to increase exponentially over time, there is a need to rethink tools of legitimation and participation. More broadly, then, it makes sense to ask whether these distributional conflicts should affect only private citizens and not the extractivist oligarchies on which the fossil market rests, both in Europe and around the world.

The point is that climate and environmental policies, by affecting polluting economic activities and thus the wages that stem from them, generate distributional conflicts, i.e., conflicts related to the distribution of resources in a given context. At the policy level, the quantitative targets set by the European Commission have a disruptive effect on territories and the local level.

Should the discontent generated by these “innovative disruptions” be politicized, it is then likely that climate and environmental goals will give way to issues perceived with greater cogency, such as those related to one’s economic activities and finding one’s livelihood. This is exactly what has happened in the Netherlands, with the BBB acting as a voice for the discontent of a significant sector of Dutch society.

In the face of these conflicts, which undermine the achievement of the goals set out in the European Green Deal related to combating climate change, and which are expected to increase exponentially over time, there is a need to rethink tools of legitimation and participation. More broadly, then, it makes sense to ask whether these distributional conflicts should affect only private citizens and not the extractivist oligarchies on which the fossil market rests, both in Europe and around the world.

In conclusion, climate and environmental policies, when they come out of the abstraction of academic debate, come up against a much more complex reality, one in which individuals’ prospects for life and happiness are often systematically beyond the biochemical limits of the planet, or “planetary boundaries”. When considering these policies, the very structure of legislative processes needs to be reconsidered, giving more room for people’s direct participation in the various steps. Should we not go in this direction, as the Dutch case testifies, the risk of failure is very real.