After two years of struggle, strong opposition, farmer protests and a near miss, the EU has finally passed a landmark nature restoration law to not only protect, but restore the natural habitats across the bloc, setting ambitious targets for the following decades.
1. Two years in the making
Faced with over 80% of European habitats being in poor condition, the European Commission proposed the nature restoration law on 22 June 2022, under the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, which is part of the European Green Deal. The law was adopted by the Parliament in February 2024 and, on Monday, 15 of the 27 environment ministers representing their Member States voted in favour of the legislation at a Council meeting in Luxembourg.
It has been a bumpy ride, with farmers coming form all over the bloc to protest in Brussels, worried that the law would severely reduce farmland take them out of business. At the same time, right-wing parties tried so hard to stop the law from becoming reality that Austria’s Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, wrote to the Belgian presidency of the EU Council to ignore the vote of their environment minister, Leonore Gewessler, arguing she did not have the right to vote in favour of the regulation.
Despite best efforts to stop the legislation, Gewessler did vote in favour and the regulation will now be published in the EU’s Official Journal and enter into force. It will become directly applicable in all Member States.
My conscience tells me unmistakably [that] when the healthy and happy life of future generations is at stake, courageous decisions are needed.
Leonore Gewessler, Austrian environment minister
“Today, the Council of the EU is choosing to restore nature in Europe, thereby protecting its biodiversity and the living environment of European citizens. It is our duty to respond to the urgency of the collapse of biodiversity in Europe, but also to enable the European Union to meet its international commitments. The European delegation will be able to go to the next COP with its head held high”, said Alain Maron, Minister for Climate Transition, Environment, Energy and Participatory Democracy of the Brussels-Capital Region.
2. Restoring ecosystems
The law aims to restore degraded ecosystems across Member States’ land and sea habitats, achieve the EU’s overarching objectives on climate mitigation and adaptation, and enhance food security. It requires countries to establish and implement measures to jointly restore, as an overall EU target, at least 20% of the bloc’s land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
The regulation covers a range of terrestrial, coastal and freshwater, forest, agricultural, but also urban ecosystems, including wetlands, grasslands, forests, rivers and lakes, as well as marine ecosystems, including seagrass and sponge and coral beds. Specific requirements for different types of ecosystems, including agricultural land, forests and urban ecosystems, are detailed in the text.
Moreover, Member States will also have to make efforts to prevent significant deterioration of areas that have already reached good condition thanks to restoration or that host the terrestrial and marine habitats listed in the regulation. And, for habitats deemed in poor condition, the restoration targets are higher, with at least 30% by 2030, at least 60% by 2040 and at least 90% by 2050.
There is no time for a break in protecting our environment.
Alain Maron, Minister for Climate Transition, Environment, Energy and Participatory Democracy of the Brussels-Capital Region
Until 2030, Natura 2000 sites will be prioritised when implementing the restoration measures, one of the compromises made to ensure the passing of the law. This means that, until the end of the decade, there is no legal requirement to address other natural areas. An emergency brake mechanism was also required by the Parliament to approve the law, providing that targets for agricultural ecosystems can be suspended if it is found that insufficient farmland remains available to meet EU’s food needs.
“Despite the weakening of the law, this deal offers a ray of hope for Europe’s nature, future generations and the livelihoods of rural communities”, said Greenpeace biodiversity campaigner Špela Bandelj Ruiz. “Healthy ecosystems offer protection against extreme weather, water shortages and pollution.”
Specifically, Member States will have to implement measures aiming to enhance two out of these three indicators: grassland butterflies’ population, stock of organic carbon in cropland mineral soils and share of agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features. Increasing forest birds’ population and making sure there is no net loss on urban green spaces and tree canopy cover until end of 2030 are also key measures of the new law.
Additionally, the regulation asks for measures aiming to restore drained peatlands and help plant at least 3 billion additional trees by 2030 at the EU level. In order to turn at least 25,000 km of rivers into free-flowing rivers by 2030, countries will need to take measures to remove man-made barriers to the connectivity of surface waters.
Now, Member States must plan ahead and submit national restoration plans to the Commission, showing how they will deliver on the targets. They must also monitor and report on their progress, based on EU-wide biodiversity indicators. By 2033, the Commission will review the application of the regulation and its impacts on the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, as well as its wider socio-economic effects.
