Brussels – European governments have narrowly adopted a diminished EU nature restoration law, after persistent attacks to torpedo the law and an uncertain outcome until Monday’s Environment Council meeting in Luxembourg. The decision finally marks the end of a long stretch of negotiations between European governments.
Greenpeace biodiversity campaigner Špela Bandelj Ruiz said: “Despite the weakening of the law, this deal offers a ray of hope for Europe’s nature, future generations and the livelihoods of rural communities. Healthy ecosystems offer protection against extreme weather, water shortages, and pollution. Poll after poll shows that people across Europe expect the EU and its governments to act to preserve nature – our political leaders will need to do a lot more to fulfil this expectation and the EU’s promise to halt biodiversity loss on the global stage. They should start by rolling out credible national nature restoration plans.”
Today’s decision by governments seals a deal already approved by the European Parliament in March for the EU to restore 20% of its natural areas by 2030, despite a weakening of the measures to achieve this target.
The new restoration law was a benchmark commitment by the EU at the last UN biodiversity meeting in Montreal in 2022, and failure to conclude the law would have been an embarrassment to the EU as ministers and European Commission officials are preparing for the next UN biodiversity meeting in Colombia in October.
Contacts:
Špela Bandelj Ruiz – Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe biodiversity campaigner: +386 30 425 478, [email protected]
Greenpeace EU press desk: +32 (0)2 274 1911, [email protected]
This press comment is also available on: www.greenpeace.eu
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