Voting took place today for the controversial EU Nature Restoration Law. The law, which forms a part of the EU’s Green Deal, was adopted by parliament following much debate, including three failed committee votes.
The extremely close vote saw 336 votes in favour of the amended law and 300 against, with 13 abstentions.
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The proposed law requires EU member states to commit to binding targets for restoring natural environments. The law seeks to restore 20% of the bloc’s degraded ecosystems by 2030.
The law saw significant opposition largely, though not exclusively, from conservative parliament members. The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) claimed that the law would negatively affect renewable energy development and farming.
According to a tweet from the party on 8 July, “wind turbines near Borssele and Egmond ann Zee [in the Netherlands] will be shut down” if the law goes ahead. This claim was countered by WindEurope, which said that it “did not see why this would be the case”.
The law, however, does not prohibit economic activity on protected land, including renewable energy projects and farmland.
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By GlobalDataThe EPP has been accused of basing its campaign against the law on misleading claims. The party said “we all want to protect nature, but we must do it with policies that work on the ground”.
A total of 21 EPP lawmakers went against their party stance and voted in favour of the law. “I cannot in good conscience and good faith vote against this law,” Ireland’s Frances Fitzgerald said in a video posted on her Twitter account. “We need to protect biodiversity. We need this law to protect our citizens, our businesses and, above all, the future generations.”
Earlier this week, environmentalists came face to face with EU farmers as both went out to campaign for and against the law’s approval. Forestry and fishery industry figures have also opposed the law.
The law is a key pillar of the Green Deal, the EU’s policy package centred around the energy transition and reaching net zero.
More than 80% of the EU’s habitats are in poor condition, according to the bloc’s own calculations. The European Commission says it will be impossible for the bloc to meet its 2050 net-zero targets without implementing them.
Several European companies, including renewable energy companies, signed a joint statement in favour of the law prior to the vote.
“Together with climate change, this puts human livelihoods and the foundations for our economic activities at risk. To bend the curve of biodiversity decline, protecting remaining natural places will not be sufficient – we need to invest in large-scale restoration as well,” the statement reads.
The regulation will now be sent back to the parliament’s environment committee, where it was previously voted down, for trilogue negotiations with the EU Council (member states) to finalise the legislation.
