EU Nature Restoration Law blocked

A conservation law which affects member States in the European Union has been derailed by late decisions from five members.

It was assumed by the European Parliament and various committees within the EU that the proposed Nature Restoration Law would go forward without delay.

This requires that 20 per cent of land and sea in the EU would be placed in recovery by 2030 and this would increase to 81 per cent of those habitats considered to be in precarious condition by 2050.

Three States voted No

Even though some of the most drastic original conditions were watered down, when it came to a vote in the Council for the Environment, The Netherlands, Poland and Sweden voted against the bill whilst Austria and Belgium abstained.

Irish Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan indicated that in his view, although the law still had the chance to be approved, the problem was that some countries had simply changed their views so the matter will need to be debated again.

Sweden stymies Greta Thunberg’s hopes

There is  certainly irony in the fact that one of the most visible supporters of the law is Swedish born Greta Thunberg, yet it is her home country amongst others that is blocking the law.

In theory, each State could proceed and introduce internal legislation which would implement the requirements of the proposed law but this is probably unlikely as EU funding could be difficult to obtain.

Some farming organisations have indicated their approval of the actions by the three dissenting States although other bodies argue that this could increase the speed of climate change.