The Nature Restoration Law is a regulation of the European Union to protect the EU environments and restore its nature to a good ecological state through renaturation. The law is a core element of the European Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity Strategy and makes the targets set therein for the "restoration of nature" binding.[1] EU member states will have to develop their national restoration plans by 2026.[2] They will have to restore at least 30% of habitats in poor condition by 2030, 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050.[3][4][5]
The regulation is a response to Europe's declining natural environments, with more than 80% of habitats in poor condition.[1] Its goals include protecting the functioning of ecosystem services, climate change mitigation, resilience and autonomy by preventing natural disasters and reducing risks to food security,[1] and restoring damaged ecosystems.[2]
After the Council of the European Union agreed on a revised proposal in June 2023, the trilogue negotiations between the commission, Council and EU Parliament began. On 12 July, after many debates, the Parliament voted in favor.[13][14] An agreement on a compromise was reached by the European Parliament and the Council on 9 November 2023.[15][more detail needed] The EU Parliament voted in favor of the final draft law on 27 February 2024.[1]
Before the vote in the Council of the EU with the environment ministers, which was initially scheduled for 25 March 2024, the representatives of eight EU member states withdrew their consent: Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands and Hungary were now against it, while Austria, Belgium, Finland, and Poland announced their abstention. The vote was then taken off the agenda.[16][17] After Austria controversially announced its approval, the vote took place in the Council on 17 June 2024, and the law was adopted.[11]
The Austrian environment minister Leonore Gewessler played a pivotal role in its final passage in the Council of the EU. Despite significant opposition and political controversy, she announced her support for the law in June, citing her inability to reconcile letting the opportunity pass without having tried everything. This decision, however, placed her in a contentious legal grey area due to opposition from Austria's federal states and her coalition partners, the centre-right Austrian People's Party (ÖVP).[18] Gewessler had previously been unable to support the law due to unanimous opposition from Austria's nine states, but Vienna and Carinthia withdrew opposition following changes to the proposed law without explicitly shifting the unanimous stance.[19] With the law's passage in the Council, it will come into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the EU.[12]
Voting result in the European Parliament on 27 February 2024
The European Parliament adopted the agreement reached with the Member States by 329 votes to 275, with 24 abstentions.[21] The individual political groups in the European Parliament voted like so:[22]
Two organizations[more detail needed] that represent the farming and fisheries sectors have criticized the policy as an unimplementable legislation in 2023 that endangers farmers' and fishers' livelihoods.[25] In another open letter by academics, biodiversity researchers requested policies like the Nature Restoration Law are built alongside farmers to empower them to make agriculture more environmentally friendly.[29][30]
