Schiphol Group buys nitrogen environment rights for Rotterdam The Hague Airport

Airport operator Schiphol Group has bought up the nitrogen rights from two farming companies in Zuid-Holland, with the emissions capacity to be held on behalf of the Rotterdam The Hague Airport. A spokesperson confirmed this on Friday after a report from the Volkskrant. Located just north of the Overschie neighborhood in Rotterdam, the airport needs a nature permit and enough rights to emit nitrogen.

Estimates show that Rotterdam The Hague Airport does not currently need the nitrogen rights. Yet Schiphol Group wants to keep them in case the space to emit nitrogen turns out to be too limited. If the nitrogen rights are not needed, they will be “for the benefit of the province,” said a Schiphol spokesperson. That means that another company will not take over the rights, and the nitrogen will not be released into nature.

The airport group previously purchased around 25 million euros' worth of nitrogen rights from farming companies to secure a nature permit for Schiphol. This led to criticism from parliamentarians who felt that this clashed with the buyout plans that the government had in mind to reduce nitrogen emissions for the benefit of nature. Farming groups have said they prefer that nitrogen rights be beneficial to agriculture.

“We recognize the sentiment. At the same time, this conforms to the existing laws and regulations, so it is allowed and can be done,” said a spokesperson. But we also understand that we may be able to do this more easily because we are a big company as opposed to a smaller farmer company.”

Schiphol Group would not share how much they paid for the nitrogen rights in Zuid-Holland.