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Background
In June 2022, the European Commission published a long-awaited proposal for the EU Nature Restoration Law, a key component of the Von der Leyen Commission’s European Green Deal. The proposal includes legally binding targets to restore biodiversity and degraded ecosystems, in particular those with the most potential to capture and store carbon. The Nature Restoration Law plays a crucial role in addressing biodiversity loss, climate change mitigation, and adaptation. The restoration of degraded ecosystems will be crucial in Europe’s plans to reach climate neutrality but also in preventing and reducing the impact of natural disasters, ensuring long-term food security and the resilience of our economies. The proposal is now under discussion in the European Parliament as well as Council.
Last week, however, the European People’s Party (EPP) walked out of the negotiations, calling for a complete withdrawal of this critical law, thereby turning its back on the European Green Deal - despite previous claims that safeguarding nature was one of the party’s main priorities.
This refusal to negotiate constructively marks the last low point in the EPP’s coordinated disinformation and scare-mongering campaign on the proposed law, with false claims including, but not limited to, that nature restoration will “tear down the villages”, though they could not point to any particular example. Without providing any scientific evidence backing such claims or offering an alternative solution to prevent droughts, floods and fires gripping the European economy, the EPP has only intensified its efforts to spread fake news.
What’s happening?
The law is entering a crucial phase as the Environment (ENVI) Committee of the European Parliament will vote on the compromise amendments on 15 June and the Council will adopt its final position on 20 June. While two associated Committees - Agriculture and Fisheries - voted to reject the proposal instead of working on a compromise text, it is the ENVI Committee that has the decisive vote as the lead Committee. The plenary vote is scheduled for the week of 10 July.
What are we calling for?
The Members of the ENVI Committee must strongly support the law by voting in favour of a constructive position that reflects the urgency to restore nature on a large scale. Similarly, we call on EU Environment Ministers to back an ambitious position that responds to unambiguous scientific evidence that restoring nature is a key part of the solution to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and meet the EU’s domestic and international climate and biodiversity commitments.
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