Nature law scrapes through EU parliament

Brussels — The European parliament on Wednesday voted to pass a fiercely contested law to restore degraded natural ecosystems in the continent, salvaging the environmental measures that centre-right legislators had campaigned to kill off.

The legal proposal was adopted with 336 votes in favour, 300 against, and 13 abstentions. EU legislators and member countries will now negotiate the final text, aiming for a deal before EU parliament elections in 2024.

The decision comes after months of political campaigning that exposed deep divisions among EU countries and legislators over the proposal. It has prompted some government leaders to warn that Europe is pushing through too many environmental laws as part of its overall green agenda.

The flagship EU nature law will require countries to introduce measures restoring nature on a fifth of their land and sea by 2030. The aim is to reverse the decline of Europe’s natural habitats, 81% of which are classed as being in poor health.

“Restoring nature brings numerous benefits to farmers such as revitalising soils, supporting pollinators and buffering them from the worsening effects of climate change. It is as simple as this: we cannot grow food on dead soil,” EU legislators Mohammed Chahim said after the vote.

The European People’s Party (EPP), the EU parliament’s biggest legislators group, led a campaign to reject the plan on the grounds it would harm farmers and endanger food security. That is despite Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, which proposed the nature law, being from the EPP party.

“We fear that this law will be counterproductive and have significant social and economic consequences,” the EPP group said in a tweet.

Other legislators and scientists have rejected the EPP’s claims, accusing the group of using misinformation to court votes ahead of EU parliament elections in 2024. The group denies this.

Cesar Luena, the parliament’s lead negotiator, thanked the scientists and young people who had supported the law — among them, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who attended the EU assembly on Wednesday to watch the vote.

Brussels has already passed dozens of carbon dioxide-cutting laws to deliver the EU’s overall green agenda, including its goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

But environment proposals have hit resistance — particularly those that would require changes from farmers, to tackle environmental pollution and the collapse of bee and butterfly populations. EU legislators voted earlier this week to weaken another law to cut pollution from farms.

Reuters