Angry farmers in Belgium have blocked traffic in Brussels with hundreds of tractors, protesting against a plan to cut nitrate levels which “climate change” proponents have called for.
The move comes as the debate over alleged agricultural pollution is becoming a political issue in many European Union (EU) farming nations.
According to the Brussels police, the BB farmers union and several others brought more than 2,700 farm vehicles from Belgium’s northern region of Flanders to the capital city, leading to the closure of several major roads, Fox News reports.
Police have warned that disruptions could last until the end of the day and have recommended that people use public transportation instead of personal cars.
“We are all convinced that something has to change nitrogen-wise, but the agricultural sector should not be treated differently to the industrial sector”, protester Leen Engelen said, referring to one of the disputed points in the draft bill, Reuters reports.
“Our sector is already making a lot of effort and is willing to do so as well, but (the government) expects more and more from us while the industry sector is also expanding”, said farm owner Liesje Van Loon.
The debate over agricultural pollution has become a political issue in many of the EU’s farming nations, with environmentalists increasingly pitted against the agricultural lobby.
The issue is set to be a focal point of Dutch elections in two weeks’ time and is also affecting Belgium, another EU nation where intensive farming has put environmentalists against farmers.
Climate activists have yet to address the apparent bias that goes into which dates they select for global temperature comparisons, periods of global “cooling,” how much warming is acceptable before disaster strikes, and what percent decrease in CO2 emissions will achieve their desired decrease in temperature, as outlined by Eugene Slaven.
