Austria’s last-minute U-turn was crucial in passing the long-debated Nature Restoration Law, which aims to reverse decades of ecosystems degradation across the European Union.
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The European Council formally adopted a contested law that sets specific legally binding targets and obligations to restore degraded ecosystems on Monday after months of delay in what environmental groups described as a “huge win for nature.”
The first-of-its-kind Nature Restoration Law, first proposed in June 2022 by the European Commission as part of the bloc’s ambitious Green New Deal, aims to put measures in place to restore at least 20% of the European Union’s (EU) land and seas by 2030, and all degraded ecosystems by mid-century.
In order to meet the established restoration target, member states will be required to restore at least 30% of their land and sea habitats deemed in poor condition by 2030 – including forests, grasslands, and wetlands but also rivers, lakes, and coral beds – increasing to 60% by 2040, and 90% by mid-century. Over 80% of European habitats are in poor shape, according to EU data. Member states would also be expected to submit national restoration plans to the European Commission detailing ways in which they plan to achieve these targets and adopt measures to prevent further deterioration of restored areas.
Monday’s vote followed months of negotiations fuelled by stark opposition from conservative, right-wing, and farming groups. A vote to pass the law at the Council in March was cancelled after Hungary unexpectedly withdrew its support, wiping out an already slim majority of countries in favour of the legislation. Hungary joined Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden in opposing the bill, while Belgium, Finland, Poland, and Austria said they intended to abstain in the vote.
It was the latter that determined the outcome of yesterday’s vote, as Austrian climate minister Leonor Gewessler of the Greens gave her support, defying her conservative coalition partners. “I know I will face opposition in Austria on this, but I am convinced that this is the time to adopt this law,” the minister told reporters. She later wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the vote marked a “victory for nature” and it was a sign that the EU now “stands unitedly behind the protection of our livelihoods.”
“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 #RestoreNature coalition, consisting of BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, the European Environment Bureau (EEB) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) EU, wrote in a statement. “After years of intense campaigning and many ups and downs, we are jubilant that this law is now reality – this day will go down in history as a turning point for nature and society.”
A crucial part of the bloc’s green agenda, the law is one of the biggest environmental policies the EU has ever put forward and the first green policy approved since the European Parliament elections earlier this month, which saw the Greens lose a third of their seats amid a rise in right-wing parties. It also places the bloc a step closer to reaching its international commitments under the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework agreed at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), which requires at least 30% of terrestrial, inland water, and of coastal and marine areas “effectively conserved” or otherwise restored from degraded states by 2030.
“Europe has to live up to its promises,” said Inger Anderson, head of the UN’s environment programme. “We are losing species at an incredibly rapid pace, and we cannot take for granted that our ecosystems will continue to deliver the services that we need if we do not take action to protect them.”
More on the topic: Will the 2030s Be the Decade for Global Biodiversity Conservation?
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