Some 20 activists from Greenpeace Nederland climbed onto the roof of the new, temporary parliamentary complex in The Hague in the early hours of Tuesday morning, calling for ‘drastic measures’ to tackle the crisis in the natural environment.

The organisation says the the Netherlands has been breaking European nature protection law for years by allowing extremely high nitrogen compound emissions from farming, construction and transport.

Nitrogen-based pollution has to be cut now, in order to preserve the most unique and vulnerable parts of Dutch nature, the organisation says, adding that current regulations will do nothing to change the current situation.

Next week’s debate on the government’s 2022 spending plans offers the last chance to take action, the organisation said. ‘Otherwise we are going to start legal action,’ Greenpeace director Andy Palmen said. ‘The crisis waits for no-one.’