The European Parliament has approved the final version of the Nature Restoration Law, aimed at protecting and restoring biodiversity.
A total of 324 MEPs voted in favour of the legislation today, winning 275 votes against and 24 abstentions. The majority of Irish MEPs voted in favour, including Fine Gael party politicians, despite their wider political grouping, the European People’s Party, taking a ‘no’ position.
11 of Ireland’s 13 MEPs from the Green Party, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and two independents voted in favour of the law. Only two – independent Luke Ming Flanagan and Sinn Féin’s Chris Mac Manus – voted against it.
The law aims to restore at least 20 per cent of EU land and sea by 2030 and all ecosystems by 2050, proposing measures to restore urban, forest, agricultural and marine ecosystems.
The law was originally proposed as part of the EU’s plans to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises, which together pose a significant threat to the planet. However, proposals to restore degraded land have been strongly opposed by farmers who say it could reduce their productivity, leading to a vigorous debate about the law in Europe.
In July last year, MEPs voted 336 to 300 (with 13 abstentions) in a parliamentary session after passing amendments that reduced some of the law’s original ambitions.
Negotiators representing the European Parliament and the EU Council have since reached a compromise on the text, which was put to a full meeting of MEPs today.
This stage of voting on legislation in the EU is usually a formality, but the European People’s Party, the largest political grouping in the EU, has said it will not back the law. The EPP’s vice chair, Siegfried Muresan, noted that the group “continues to have serious concerns about the Nature Restoration Law”. He said in a statement.
“We do not want new and more forms of bureaucracy and reporting obligations for farmers. Let farmers farm.”
Irish MEPs from Fine Gael, part of the EPP group, voted in favour of the legislation last July and again today.
In a joint statement earlier today, they said the final agreement “achieves a balance between action to improve biodiversity while protecting food security and ensuring that restoration measures are voluntary for farmers”.
Climate and environmental organisations criticised the EPP’s decision to move away from the agreed text, saying Europe needs to take action to restore biodiversity. 81 per cent of assessed habitats in Europe are in poor condition.
