The goal of the new legislation is to restore at least 20% of the EU's land and sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in poor condition by 2050.
Member States have reached an agreement on the EU Nature Restoration Law. It will help to restore degraded ecosystems across all Member States, achieve the EU’s climate and biodiversity objectives, and increase food security.
To meet the overall EU goals, Member States must restore at least 30% of the habitats covered by the new legislation by 2030. These can be various habitats – ranging from forests, grasslands and wetlands to rivers, lakes and coral reefs – and they must be restored from a poor condition to a good one. By 2040, 60% of such habitats must be restored, and 90% by 2050. Taking into account the position of Parliament, EU countries must prioritise the restoration of Natura 2000 areas by 2030. Once a habitat is in good condition, EU countries must ensure that its condition does not significantly deteriorate again. Member States will also be required to adopt national restoration plans detailing how they intend to achieve the set targets.
Agricultural ecosystems
To increase biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems, EU countries will need to improve two out of the following three indicators: the grassland butterfly index, the share of agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features, and the stock of organic carbon in cropland mineral soil. Measures must also be taken to increase the index of farmland birds, as birds are a good indicator of the general state of biodiversity.
Restoring drained peatlands is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce emissions in the agricultural sector. Therefore, EU countries must restore at least 30% of drained peatlands by 2030 (and restore the hydrological regime for at least a quarter of these), 40% by 2040, and 50% by 2050 (with the hydrological regime restored for at least one-third of these). The restoration of the hydrological regime will be voluntary for farmers and private landowners.
At the request of Parliament, the legislation provides that, in exceptional cases, agricultural ecosystems may deviate from the set targets if the achievement of these targets would significantly reduce the land area necessary for sufficient food production for EU consumption.
Other ecosystems
The legislation also requires the improvement of several indicators related to forest ecosystems and the planting of three billion trees. Furthermore, Member States will be required to restore the free-flowing status of at least 25,000 km of rivers and ensure that there is no net loss in the total national area of urban green spaces and urban tree canopy cover.
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Following the vote, rapporteur César Luena (S&D, Spain) said: “This is a significant day for Europe, because we are now moving from protecting nature to restoring it. Thanks to the new legislation, we will also be able to fulfil many international environmental commitments. This regulation will help restore degraded ecosystems while simultaneously taking into account the specific needs of the agricultural sector, ensuring flexibility for Member States. I would like to thank the scientists for providing the evidence and fighting against climate change deniers. I am also grateful to the young people who remind us that we have neither a backup plan nor a backup planet.”
Next steps
The legislation, agreed upon with Member States, was adopted with 329 votes in favour, 275 against, and 24 abstentions.
Once the text of the regulation is officially approved by the Council, it will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and will enter into force after 20 days.
General information
More than 80% of European habitats are in a poor condition. On 22 June 2022, the Commission proposed the Nature Restoration Law to restore damaged nature in EU land and sea areas in the long term. The aim is to achieve EU climate and biodiversity goals and implement international commitments, in particular the UN global biodiversity agreement. According to data provided by the Commission, the new legislation will be highly beneficial to the economy, as every euro invested will yield at least eight euros in benefits.
This legislation has been developed in response to proposals from citizens included in the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe. These proposals relate to the protection and restoration of biodiversity, landscapes, and oceans (Proposal 2, points 1 and 3–5).