The European Council gave the green light today, June 17, to the European Union’s ambitious Nature Restoration Law.
The law was narrowly passed by the European Parliament at the end of February, but needed to also get approved by the European Council.
According to the Council, the law is the “first of its kind regulation on nature restoration” and puts measures in place to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
It is a challenging task, considering previous communications by the Commission revealing that 80% of the EU’s habitats are considered to be degraded.
The hope is that the regulation will help mitigate climate change and the effects of natural disasters by setting legally binding targets and obligations for restoration for all of the EU’s terrestrial and marine-based ecosystems.
The law is also viewed by the EU as a way to ensure that it will fulfill its international environmental commitments.
Commenting on the news, the WWF European Policy Office said, in a post on LinkedIN, that “Today’s vote is a massive victory for Europe’s nature and citizens who have been long calling for immediate action to tackle nature’s alarming decline.”
The law, while ambitious is also considered to be controversial, as many questions remain on how member states will strike the balance between the environment, society and economic development to ensure it is enforced.
