EDITOR'S NOTE: What you’re about to read below lays out a messy global conundrum. There’s no doubt that in the last few days, the UK is experiencing extreme heat levels never before seen in that region of the country as with parts of Europe, all undergoing a dangerous and perhaps unprecedented heat wave. There’s a difference between a) not believing in climate change, and b) not agreeing with the manner in which governments across the globe are handling it. The Dutch farmers in the article below likely belong to the latter. They feel that their government’s nitrogen emission reduction policies are structured so unfairly that the policies pose an existential threat to individual farmers. Plus, Dutch agriculture is among the most productive per acre in the world and, according to some experts, contributes more good to the environment than it does harm. Yet, the government dismisses that perspective. And so farmers are taking to the streets in a strong act of civil disobedience. What’s at stake here is not just farming rights and farmers’ livelihoods but the capacity for a government to seize private property by force under a “greater good” pretext. And as the world’s weather patterns deviate from seasonal norms, and as governments work to assert their power over citizens and private businesses, will the Dutch revolt mark the beginning of a more global movement toward civil unrest?
Global green agenda 'causing huge burdens,' British energy expert tells Fox News Digital.
A series of farmer-led demonstrations against a government climate rule in the Netherlands could be the beginning of a global movement, according to experts interviewed by Fox News Digital.
The Dutch government issued a plan in June laying out nitrogen emission reductions, largely targeting the nation's agriculture industry which produces an outsized shared of such emissions, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FSA). The government, though, directly acknowledged that "there is not a future for all" farmers to continue their business under the proposal.
In response, farmers throughout the country have reportedly taken to the streets in recent weeks, blocking roads to airports and deliveries to food distribution depots. A State Department spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the U.S. is monitoring the situation and encouraging both sides to reach an agreement soon.
"I really understand their anger," Marcel Crok, a Dutch science writer and co-founder of the Climate Intelligence Foundation, told Fox News Digital in an interview. "The farmers are also angry because they say, ‘we are the only sector who get all the blame.’ What about industry? What about the traffic? Maybe we should just ban all the cars in the Netherlands because they also emit [nitrogen]."
"This plan in practice means that, in certain areas, farmers have to reduce their nitrogen emissions by 70%," he continued. "That means they simply have to quit."
DUTCH POLICE SHOOT AT TRACTOR DURING NIGHT OF FARM PROTESTS
The proposal to sharply cut nitrogen emissions is tied to a 2019 Dutch court decision forcing the nation's government to take more aggressive measures to curb nitrogen emissions. The Netherlands, though, has heavily regulated agriculture emissions since the 1990s and farmers have largely complied with such rules, Crok said.
The Netherlands emits a large quantity of nitrogen because of its massive agriculture industry which accounts for about 87% of the country's 124 million kilograms of annual ammonia emissions, the FSA report showed. The nation exported a whopping $26.8 billion worth of food products despite having a relatively tiny population compared to other major producers, according to World Bank data.