Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries voted on 24 May to reject the core initiative of the EU Nature Restoration Law. This occurred a day after the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture expressed a similar rejection. Attention now shifts to the Committee on the Environment (the lead committee for the proposal), which will vote on the document on 15 June. The final vote in the plenary session will take place in July.

The European Union’s Nature Restoration Law, proposed by the EU Commission in June 2022, sets legally binding targets to restore 20% of EU land and sea areas by 2030 in order to halt biodiversity loss and stop the degradation of ecosystems.

However, Spanish Socialist Member of the European Parliament César Luena proposed setting a higher target, increasing it from 20 to 30 per cent of land and sea area for nature restoration to be carried out by the end of the decade. This would align EU goals with the international commitment agreed upon by world nations at the UN biodiversity talks in Montreal last year.

“Nature restoration in the EU is the only way to guarantee the resilience of our ecosystems, on which our economy and food security depend,” C. Luena stated on Twitter.

Although many see this proposal as a necessary change, it has recently been sharply criticised by conservative lawmakers who argue that the new legislation will harm farmers and food production in the European Union. The Parliament’s largest political group – the European People’s Party (EPP), which has been at the forefront of the opposition to the nature restoration law, has now called on the Commission to withdraw the proposal.

“We support biodiversity, but this proposal is not fit for purpose. After the decisive votes in two of Parliament’s committees, it must be withdrawn,” said centre-right MEP from Romania, Siegfried Mureșan.

However, the dissenting opinions from the Fisheries and Agriculture committees are only legally non-binding views that must be considered by the Environment Committee. Meanwhile, the Greens have accused the European Parliament’s conservative and liberal MEPs who rejected the proposal of aligning themselves with the far-right.

“The EPP and Renew are playing party politics at the expense of nature and farmers... We must not allow the dishonest coalition of the EPP, Renew, and far-right populists and extremists to further undermine the European Green Deal,” said German Green MEP Jutta Paulus.

In a debate held in parliament on 24 May, representatives of the companies Velux, Nestlé, and Euroelectric argued that the law on nature restoration could lead to changes in their sectors.

“Our goal is to have 20% of raw materials sourced from regenerative agriculture by 2025. Currently, we are at seven per cent. The Nature Restoration Law would help to accelerate this transition,” said Bart Vandewaetere (Bart Vandewaetere), who works for Nestlé Europe.

Meanwhile, environmental groups have accused centre-right lawmakers of ignoring science and waging a disinformation campaign.

“The living world around us is dying; the science makes this clear,” Ariel Brunner, director of the non-governmental organisation Birdlife Europe, said during the debate in parliament.

More than 80% of habitats in the European Union are said to have poor or inadequate conservation status, a third of groundwater is at risk, bee and fish populations are declining, and most soil is in poor condition.

Costs

The risk of increased costs for farmers and citizens is one of the arguments the EPP used to reject the nature restoration proposal entirely in the vote.

However, according to the impact assessment conducted by the Commission, every euro invested in nature restoration will yield €8-38 in additional benefits related to climate change mitigation.

Overall, the estimated cost per capita for implementing this legislation is approximately €14 per year, while the benefit is about €112 per year.