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Auction agricultural land to make room for housing and energy generation

If we are to believe the election programs of all major political parties, the Netherlands is on the eve of a historic transition in spatial planning. All major parties want not only to build more houses quickly (one million in the next 10 years), but also to generate more green energy through wind farms and solar meadows. Parties such as D66, PvdA and CU also want to create more forest. These plans can only be realized if agricultural land is freed up. However, the VVD and the CDA are against forced expropriation. The crucial question is: how can we ensure that (1) sufficient farmers voluntarily give up their land so that the political goals can be achieved, (2) agricultural land is freed up where there is a need for new homes, wind farms, solar meadows and forests, and (3) farmers who give up their land receive market-based compensation? According to Emiel Maasland and Sander Onderstal the answer to this question is easier than one may think, namely through auctions. Read the blog post (in Dutch) at ESB.nu.

March 11, 2021
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