EU: Restore nature by 2050 and halve pesticide use by 2030

The Commission also proposes to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50 per cent by 2030.

These are the flagship legislative proposals to follow the Biodiversity and Farm to Fork Strategies and will help ensure the resilience and security of food supply in the EU and across the world.

The proposal for a Nature Restoration Law is a key step in avoiding ecosystem collapse and preventing the worst impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Restoring EU wetlands, rivers, forests, grasslands, marine ecosystems, urban environments and the species they host is a crucial and cost-effective investment: into our food security, climate resilience, health, and well-being.

In the same vein, the new rules on chemical pesticides will reduce the environmental footprint of the EU’s food system, protect the health and well-being of citizens and agricultural workers, and help mitigate the economic losses that we are already incurring due to declining soil health and pesticide-induced pollinator loss.

Nature restoration law to repair the damage done to Europe’s nature by 2050

The Commission is today proposing the first-ever legislation that explicitly targets the restoration of Europe’s nature, to repair the 80 per cent of European habitats that are in poor condition, and to bring back nature to all ecosystems, from forest and agricultural land to marine, freshwater and urban ecosystems.

Under this proposal for a Nature Restoration Law, legally binding targets for nature restoration in different ecosystems will apply to every Member State, complementing existing laws.

The aim is to cover at least 20 per cent of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 with nature restoration measures, and eventually extend these to all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.