Parliament backs EU nature restoration law, despite right-wing opposition

Lawmakers in the European Parliament voted in favour of the EU Nature Restoration Law on Wednesday (12 July), defeating a right-wing attempt to reject it and paving the way for discussions with EU countries to finalise the contested legislation.

The law, which looks to introduce binding targets to restore Europe’s nature, became a huge point of contention within the European Parliament as right-wing groups, led by the European People’s Party (EPP), campaigned fiercely against it.

However, their rejection attempt was ultimately defeated, with 312 MEPs voting to support the rejection, 324 against and 12 abstaining. Lawmakers also agreed their position on the proposal with 336 in favour, 300 against and 13 abstaining.

“While the conservative EPP chose not to listen, the rest of the Parliament moved forward with this crucial policy, aiming to secure a better future for all,” said César Luena, the lead parliamentary negotiator on the proposal, affiliated with the Socialists and Democrats (S&D).

Speaking in a debate on the law on Tuesday, Luena emphasised the importance of the law – both for Europe’s nature and for those whose livelihoods depend on it.

“For the last 40 years, Europe has been warming at twice the global rate. The well-being of people improves the more green areas there are, reducing pollution and reducing the danger of zoonotic disease,” Luena said, referring to illnesses that pass between animals and humans.

“The law is good for all but particularly farmers, fishers and everyone else who is actively involved in working alongside ecosystems. The Green Deal will only be possible if we have a nature restoration law to go with it,” added the Spanish lawmaker.

The law aims to reverse the drastic decline of Europe’s nature, with only 15% of assessed habitats in a good status, and pollinating species like bees and other insects under increasing pressure.

Restoration efforts are also required to help Europe tackle climate change. For instance, healthy and diverse forests are able to store more carbon and are better equipped to withstand the impact of wildfires.

“Drought, floods, and forest fires have become part of a new reality. While they are driven by climate change, the degradation of ecosystems and the weakened resilience due to biodiversity loss, accelerates and intensifies the impacts of these events,” EU environment chief Virginijus Sinkevičius told the parliamentary debate on Tuesday.

The European Commission has also made it clear that the law is essential to meeting Europe’s international commitments, including its climate pledge under the Paris Agreement and a global goal it signed up to last year to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030.

EPP falls at final hurdle

The European People’s Party campaigned heavily against the proposal and joined with farmers in Strasbourg on Tuesday to protest against it.

EPP lawmakers warned the law would have a negative impact on food production and the livelihoods of farmers, foresters and fishers, while other parties criticised them for politicising the vote.

“We as the EPP stand by the objectives of the European Green Deal. We want the Montreal biodiversity protocol to apply across the world. But we don’t agree on the path to take,” said Christine Schneider, the EPP lawmaker who was leading the negotiations for the group before she walked out on these.

Not all EPP lawmakers fell in line, however, with some – notably from Ireland – refusing to follow the group line and reject the law.

Irish MEPs break ranks with EPP to support nature restoration law

Irish members of the conservative European People’s Party (EPP) Seán Kelly and Deirdre Clune will not support their group’s rejection of the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, the MEPs announced on Tuesday, less than 24 hours before the decisive vote in the European Parliament.

Weakened text

In the end, the proposal mustered just enough support to win a majority in the European Parliament. This was partly aided by the centrist Renew Europe group, which tabled the already-agreed approach of EU countries.

This was backed in June by a majority of EU governments, including some with EPP affiliation, and was cited by several EPP dissenters as a reason not to reject the proposal.

However, while this fixed issues many had with the European Commission’s original text, it also watered down some elements, which led to concerns that the final text agreed by Parliament is not up to scratch.

One European Parliament source told EURACTIV that lawmakers were “creating the Frankenstein’s monster of legislative negotiation positions”.

The law will now be negotiated between EU countries and the European Parliament, which must reach an agreement on an identical text before it can be written into law. Negotiations could be made easier thanks to the Parliament’s position partly matching that of EU countries.

Will the EPP survive feud over EU Nature Restoration Law?

The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) has come out all guns blazing on the EU Nature Restoration Law ahead of a make-or-break vote on Wednesday (12 July) that is high stakes for the European Green Deal and for the EPP itself, writes Kira Taylor.

[Edited by Frédéric Simon/Zoran Radosavljevic]

Read more with Euractiv

NGOs 'bitterly disappointed' by EU Parliament vote on industrial emissions law

The European Parliament's stance on the Industrial Emissions Directive has failed to meet the expectations of environmental organisations, though some also pointed to a few silver linings.