EU Approves Landmark Nature Law to Restore 20% of Land and Sea by 2030

A landmark law to restore a fifth of the European Union’s land and sea by 2030 has been approved by the European Parliament, following months of delays.

Leonore Gewessler, Austria’s Green climate minister, ended the deadlock at the last minute by breaking with the conservative party of chancellor Karl Nehammer. The move sparked an announcement by the party that it would pursue criminal charges against Gewessler for abuse of power, reported The Guardian.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leonore Gewessler (@lgewessler)

“Today’s decision is a victory for nature,” Gewessler wrote in a translated post on Instagram. “My conscience tells me unmistakably [that] when the healthy and happy life of future generations is at stake, courageous decisions are needed.”

The proposal for the nature law had been weakened as European elections approached, but even with the concessions, it very nearly didn’t pass on Monday.

“Today marks a significant day for Europe as we transition from merely protecting and conserving nature to actively restoring it,” said César Luena, Spain’s member of parliament who led negotiations for the policy, as reported by The Guardian.

For the restoration law to pass, 55 percent of member states that represented a minimum of 65 percent of the bloc’s population needed to vote in favor.

The necessary majority came after Austria and Slovakia changed their votes, pushing the law over the line by 1.07 percentage points.

“I know I will face opposition in Austria on this, but I am convinced that this is the time to adopt this law,” Gewessler said to reporters, as Reuters reported.

The purpose of the nature restoration law is to reverse the decline of natural habitats in Europe, 81 percent of which are classified as unhealthy, according to the European Environment Agency. The legislation includes set targets, like the restoration of peatlands, an important carbon sink.

Twenty EU countries voted in favor of the law, with Hungary, Itay, Finland, Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden voting against, and Belgium abstaining.

Some countries like the Netherlands had expressed concern that the law would impede wind farm expansion and other economic activities. On Monday, Poland said there was no plan for funding the policy’s protection of nature.

The law includes steps to reverse pollinator declines and requires member states to take measures to help plant a minimum of three billion trees, reported The Guardian.

“There is no time for a break in protecting our environment,” said Alain Maron, the Brussels region’s environment minister, as Euronews reported. “Today, the Council of the EU is choosing to restore nature in Europe, thereby protecting its biodiversity and the living environment of European citizens.”

Environmental activists called the vote “historic,” reported The Guardian.

“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,” said an environmental coalition led by WWF Europe, as The Guardian reported.