Netherlands cuts national speed limit to reduce nitrogen pollution

The Netherlands will cut its nationwide speed limit to a maximum 100 km per hour (62 mph) as part of a package of emergency measures intended to reduce nitrogen pollution, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday. Rutte's government has been in crisis since a court in May ordered thousands of construction projects to be delayed because the Netherlands has been exceeding European Union limits on nitrogen emissions for years. Airborne nitrogen emissions in the form of nitrogen oxides (NOx) come primarily from cars, trucks and the heavy diesel-powered utility vehicles used in construction.