EU approves Dutch plan to buy out farmers and reduce nitrogen emissions.

The European Union has approved Dutch government plans to reduce nitrogen pollution by buying out and halting work at farms responsible for large-scale emissions of nitrogen. The plans, worth nearly $1.65 billion, aim to cut emissions of pollutants by 50% nationwide by 2030. Some 3,000 farms are expected to be eligible. The move has sparked protests by angry farmers in the Netherlands, a major producer and exporter of farm products. Nitrogen pollution makes climate change worse and can harm biodiversity, according to the UN Environment Program.