Nature Restoration Law

Last updated

Regulation 2024/1991
European Union regulation
Text with EEA relevance
Flag of Europe.svg
TitleNature Restoration Law
Made byEuropean Parliament and the Council
Journal reference OJ L, 2024/1991, 29.7.2024
History
Came into force18 August 2024
Other legislation
AmendsRegulation (EU) 2022/869
Current legislation

The Nature Restoration Law is a regulation of the European Union to protect the EU environments and restore its nature to a good ecological state through renaturation. The law is a core element of the European Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity Strategy and makes the targets set therein for the "restoration of nature" binding. [1] EU member states will have to develop their national restoration plans by 2026. [2] They will have to restore at least 30% of habitats in poor condition by 2030, 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

The regulation is a response to Europe's declining natural environments, with more than 80% of habitats in poor condition. [1] Its goals include protecting the functioning of ecosystem services, climate change mitigation, resilience and autonomy by preventing natural disasters and reducing risks to food security, [1] and restoring damaged ecosystems. [2]

The regulation was proposed by the European Commission on 22 June 2022. [6] The law was adopted in the Council of the European Union on 17 June 2024 [11] and was published in the EU's Official Journal on 29 July 2024, thus coming into force on 18 August 2024 (20th day after publication). [12]

History

After the Council of the European Union agreed on a revised proposal in June 2023, the trilogue negotiations between the commission, Council and EU Parliament began. On 12 July, after many debates, the Parliament voted in favor. [13] [14] An agreement on a compromise was reached by the European Parliament and the Council on 9 November 2023. [15] [ more detail needed ] The EU Parliament voted in favor of the final draft law on 27 February 2024. [1]

Before the vote in the Council of the EU with the environment ministers, which was initially scheduled for 25 March 2024, the representatives of eight EU member states withdrew their consent: Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands and Hungary were now against it, while Austria, Belgium, Finland, and Poland announced their abstention. The vote was then taken off the agenda. [16] [17] After Austria controversially announced its approval, the vote took place in the Council on 17 June 2024, and the law was adopted. [11]

The Austrian environment minister Leonore Gewessler played a pivotal role in its final passage in the Council of the EU. Despite significant opposition and political controversy, she announced her support for the law in June, citing her inability to reconcile letting the opportunity pass without having tried everything. This decision, however, placed her in a contentious legal grey area due to opposition from Austria's federal states and her coalition partners, the centre-right Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). [18] Gewessler had previously been unable to support the law due to unanimous opposition from Austria's nine states, but Vienna and Carinthia withdrew opposition following changes to the proposed law without explicitly shifting the unanimous stance. [19] With the law's passage in the Council, it will come into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the EU . [12]

A map of main rivers in Europe Europaische Wasserscheiden.png
A map of main rivers in Europe
An assessment of European freshwater biodiversity recovery and declines Biodiversity Europa freshwaters Temporal fluctuations in trend estimates.webp
An assessment of European freshwater biodiversity recovery and declines

The final text[ more detail needed ] reduced requirements for the farming sector. [5]

Voting result in the European Parliament on 27 February 2024

The European Parliament adopted the agreement reached with the Member States by 329 votes to 275, with 24 abstentions. [21] The individual political groups in the European Parliament voted like so: [22]

PartyPro (votes)Con (votes)Abstentions
ECR 3601
EPP 2511510
Greens/EFA 69—2
ID —50—
The Left 283—
Renew Europe 60306
S&D 11743
Non-attached27132

Reception

The regulation was endorsed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, [23] scientists, who wrote an open letter in support that addressed critics' arguments, [24] [25] [26] [27] and the European Academies' Science Advisory Council [28] among others.

Two organizations[ more detail needed ] that represent the farming and fisheries sectors have criticized the policy as an unimplementable legislation in 2023 that endangers farmers' and fishers' livelihoods. [25] In another open letter by academics, biodiversity researchers requested policies like the Nature Restoration Law are built alongside farmers to empower them to make agriculture more environmentally friendly. [29] [30]

In July 2023, European People's Party (EPP) leader Manfred Weber tried to block the Nature Restoration Law, saying it would destroy farmers' livelihoods and threaten food security. [31]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of the European Union</span> Institution of the European Union

The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as listed in the Treaty on European Union. It is one of two legislative bodies and together with the European Parliament serves to amend and approve or veto the proposals of the European Commission, which holds the right of initiative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Parliament</span> Directly elected legislature of the European Union

The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union, it adopts European legislation, following a proposal by the European Commission. The Parliament is composed of 720 members (MEPs), after the June 2024 European elections, from a previous 705 MEPs. It represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world, with an electorate of around 375 million eligible voters in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the European Union</span>

The political structure of the European Union (EU) is similar to a confederation, where many policy areas are federalised into common institutions capable of making law; the competences to control foreign policy, defence policy, or the majority of direct taxation policies are mostly reserved for the twenty-seven state governments. These areas are primarily under the control of the EU's member states although a certain amount of structured co-operation and coordination takes place in these areas. For the EU to take substantial actions in these areas, all Member States must give their consent. Union laws that override State laws are more numerous than in historical confederations; however, the EU is legally restricted from making law outside its remit or where it is no more appropriate to do so at a state or local level (subsidiarity) when acting outside its exclusive competences. The principle of subsidiarity does not apply to areas of exclusive competence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Weimers</span> Swedish politician

Charlie Andreas Weimers is Swedish politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Sweden since 2019. He was re-elected in the 2024 European Parliament election in Sweden. He is a member of the Sweden Democrats, part of European Conservatives and Reformists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonino Picula</span> Croatian politician, Member of the European Parliament

Tonino Picula is a Croatian politician currently serving his fourth term as a Member of the European Parliament for Croatia, having successfully run in 2013, 2014, 2019 and 2024 European elections.. He got involved in politics in the early 1990s and had served four consecutive terms as a member of the Croatian Parliament, having been elected in 2000, 2003, 2007, and 2011 parliamentary elections as a member of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2000 to 2003 under prime minister Ivica Račan, and as mayor of Velika Gorica from 2005 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Council of Latvia</span> Latvian transitional parliament (1990–1993)

The Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia was the transitional parliament of Latvia from 1990 to 1993, after the restoration of independence. The Supreme Council was elected on 18 March 1990 as the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR. On 4 May 1990 it declared the restoration of independence of Latvia and began a transitional period which was to last until the election of a new Saeima to replace it. Independence was fully restored on 21 August 1991 during the Soviet coup attempt. The Supreme Council ended its work in 6 July 1993, with the first session of the fifth Saeima.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enhanced cooperation</span> European Union procedure

In the European Union (EU), enhanced cooperation is a procedure where a minimum of nine EU member states are allowed to establish advanced integration or cooperation in an area within EU structures but without the other member states being involved. As of October 2017, this procedure is being used in the fields of the Schengen acquis, divorce law, patents, property regimes of international couples, and European Public Prosecutor and is approved for the field of a financial transaction tax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberta Metsola</span> President of the European Parliament since 2022

Roberta Metsola is a Maltese politician who has served as the president of the European Parliament since January 2022. She is a member of Malta's Nationalist Party (PN) and the European People's Party (EPP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Fox</span> British politician (born 1969)

Sir Ashley Peter Fox is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Bridgwater since July 2024. He was previously a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England and Gibraltar, and was leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament from 2014 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Citizens' Initiative</span> European Union mechanism aimed at increasing direct democracy

The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) is a European Union (EU) mechanism aimed at increasing direct democracy by enabling "EU citizens to participate directly in the development of EU policies", introduced with the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. This popular initiative enables one million citizens of the European Union, with a minimum number of nationals from at least seven member states, to call directly on the European Commission to propose a legal act in an area where the member states have conferred powers onto the EU level. This right to request the commission to initiate a legislative proposal puts citizens on the same footing as the European Parliament and the European Council, who enjoy this right according to Articles 225 and 241 TFEU, respectively. The commission holds the right of initiative in the EU. The first registered ECI, Fraternité 2020, was initiated on 9 May 2012, although the first submitted ECI was One Single Tariff.

Environmental issues in the European Union include the environmental issues identified by the European Union as well as its constituent states. The European Union has several federal bodies which create policy and practice across the constituent states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axel Voss</span> German lawyer and politician

Axel Voss is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2009 and became coordinator of the European People's Party group in the Committee on Legal Affairs in 2017. His parliamentary work focuses on digital and legal topics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental policy of the European Union</span> Environment protection policy

The European Union (EU) Environmental Policy was initiated in 1973 with the "Environmental Action Programme" at which point the Environmental Unit was formed. The policy has thereafter evolved "to cover a vast landscape of different topics enacted over many decades" (Reuters) and in 2015 the Institute for European Environmental Policy estimated that "the body of EU environmental law" amounted to 500+ directives, regulations and decisions.

"Over the past decades the European Union has put in place a broad range of environmental legislation. As a result, air, water and soil pollution has significantly been reduced. Chemicals legislation has been modernised and the use of many toxic or hazardous substances has been restricted. Today, EU citizens enjoy some of the best water quality in the world"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilly Metz</span> Luxembourgish politician

Tilly Metz is a Luxembourgish politician of the Green Party. After teaching humanities and social sciences, she was appointed as deputy director of the Lycée Technique pour Professions Educatives et Sociales (LTPES) in Mersch. She was the mayor of the municipality of Weiler-la-Tour (Luxembourg) and has been a Member of the European Parliament since June 2018, as part of the Greens/EFA political group. She is particularly known for her stance on animal welfare, health-related issues and human rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christophe Hansen</span> Luxembourgian politician

Christophe Hansen is a Luxembourgish politician belonging to the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), of which he is Secretary-General.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 European Parliament election</span> 10th European Parliamentary election

The 2024 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 6 and 9 June 2024. It was the tenth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first European Parliament election after Brexit. A total of 720 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent more than 450 million people from 27 member states. This election also coincided with a number of other elections in some European Union member states.

The migration and asylum policy of the European Union is within the area of freedom, security and justice, established to develop and harmonise principles and measures used by member countries of the European Union to regulate migration processes and to manage issues concerning asylum and refugee status in the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Green Deal</span> Plan to transform the EU into a climate-neutral economy by 2050

The European Green Deal, approved in 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union (EU) climate neutral in 2050. The plan is to review each existing law on its climate merits, and also introduce new legislation on the circular economy (CE), building renovation, biodiversity, farming and innovation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonore Gewessler</span> Austrian politician (born 1977)

Leonore Gewessler is an Austrian Green politician serving as Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology in the Nehammer government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital Services Act</span> European Union regulation on digital services content

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is an EU regulation adopted in 2022 that addresses illegal content, transparent advertising and disinformation. It updates the Electronic Commerce Directive 2000 in EU law, and was proposed alongside the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The EU #NatureRestoration Law". environment.ec.europa.eu. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  2. 1 2 "State of the Union: EU top jobs and Nature Restoration law". euronews. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  3. ↑ "Nature restoration: Parliament adopts law to restore 20% of EU's land and sea | News | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  4. ↑ "Nature restoration" . Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Manzanaro, Sofia Sanchez (17 June 2024). "EU countries rubberstamp Nature Restoration Law after months of deadlock". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  6. ↑ "Nature restoration law - European Commission". environment.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  7. ↑ "Österreich gab bei Ja zu Renaturierungsgesetz den Ausschlag, Nehammer kündigt Nichtigkeitsklage an". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "EU ministers approve contested Nature Restoration Law – DW – 06/17/2024". dw.com. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  9. ↑ Petrequin, Samuel (17 June 2024). "EU approves landmark nature restoration plan despite months of protests by farmers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "Nature restoration law: Council gives final green light" . Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  11. 1 2 [7] [8] [9] [5] [10]
  12. 1 2 "2022/0195(COD)" . Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  13. ↑ Magee, Caolán (12 July 2023). "Europe agrees landmark nature and climate deal after tense negotiations". CNN. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  14. ↑ "Texts adopted - Nature restoration - Wednesday, 12 July 2023". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  15. ↑ "Commission welcomes agreement between European Parliament and Council on Nature Restoration Law". European Commission - European Commission. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  16. ↑ O'Carroll, Lisa (25 March 2024). "EU nature restoration laws face collapse as member states withdraw support". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  17. ↑ "Future of Nature Restoration Law uncertain amid further delay". euronews. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  18. ↑ Niranjan, Ajit (17 June 2024). "EU passes law to restore 20% of bloc's land and sea by end of decade". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  19. ↑ Ajit Niranjan (17 June 2024). "EU passes law to restore 20% of bloc's land and sea by end of decade". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  20. ↑ Haase, Peter; Bowler, Diana E.; Baker, Nathan J.; et al. (August 2023). "The recovery of European freshwater biodiversity has come to a halt". Nature. 620 (7974): 582–588. Bibcode:2023Natur.620..582H. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06400-1 . ISSN   1476-4687. PMC   10432276 .
  21. ↑ "Parlament: Ja zur Renaturierung von 20 % der Land- und Meeresflächen der EU | Aktuelles | Europäisches Parlament". www.europarl.europa.eu (in German). 27 February 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  22. ↑ "Protokoll; Ergebnis der namentlichen Abstimmungen - Anlage" (PDF). Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  23. ↑ "The EU adopts its new Nature Restoration Law - News | IUCN". www.iucn.org. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  24. ↑ Pe'er, Guy; Kachler, Jana; Herzon, Irina; Hering, Daniel; Arponen, Anni; Bosco, Laura; Bruelheide, Helge; Friedrichs-Manthey, Martin; Hagedorn, Gregor; Hansjürgens, Bernd; Ladouceur, Emma; Lakner, Sebastian; Liquete, Camino; Quaas, Martin; Robuchon, Marine; Saavedra, Deli; Selva, Nuria; Settele, Josef; Sirami, Clélia; Van Dam, Nicole M.; Wittmer, Heidi; Wubs, E.R. Jasper; Bonn, Aletta (2023). "Scientists support the EU's Green Deal and reject the unjustified argumentation against the Sustainable Use Regulation and the Nature Restoration Law". doi:10.5281/zenodo.8128624. The call was led by 23 scientists and signed by 6000 scientists across EU Member States and 30 additional countries.
  25. 1 2 "Scientists urge European Parliament to vote for nature restoration law". Science.org. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  26. ↑ "SCIENTISTS IN SUPPORT FOR AN AMBITIOUS EU NATURE RESTORATION LAW – Institute of Fisheries Management". ifm.org.uk. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  27. ↑ Hering, Daniel; Schürings, Christian; Wenskus, Franziska; Blackstock, Kirsty; Borja, Angel; Birk, Sebastian; Bullock, Craig; Carvalho, Laurence; Dagher-Kharrat, Magda Bou; Lakner, Sebastian; Lovrić, Nataša; McGuinness, Shane; Nabuurs, Gert-Jan; Sánchez-Arcilla, Agustín; Settele, Josef; Pe’er, Guy (15 December 2023). "Securing success for the Nature Restoration Law". Science. 382 (6676): 1248–1250. Bibcode:2023Sci...382.1248H. doi:10.1126/science.adk1658. ISSN   0036-8075.
  28. ↑ "EU Nature Restoration Law 2024". Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  29. ↑ Greenfield, Patrick (26 April 2024). "New EU nature law will fail without farmers, scientists warn". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  30. ↑ "We need nature to save our agriculture". Crowther Lab. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  31. ↑ "EU conservatives' anti-Green Deal push falls short". Politico. 12 July 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.