Setback for government as Council of State throws out new nitrogen rules

The Netherlands’ highest administrative court, the Council of State, has struck out a temporary regulation that allowed large building projects to go ahead despite tight restrictions on nitrogen pollution. The decision is a blow for the government’s efforts to keep the construction sector running after the court ruled in 2019 that its environmental permit system violated European conservation rules. The case was brought by environmental activist group Mobilisation for the Environment (MOB) against the Porthos project, designed to allow construction...