MEPs vote down the Nature Restoration Law, throwing its survival into doubt

The legislation, which seeks to reverse biodiversity loss by rehabilitating Europe’s degraded land and sea areas, has become the object of relentless criticism by conservative parties.

After going through a long series of amendments, the text as a whole received 44 votes and 44 against, meaning it failed to garner the necessary simple majority to move forward by one single ballot. 

The tally prompted a mix of applause and jeers inside the room, a vivid reflection of the stark ideological divide prompted by the law.

It marks the first time the parliament’s environment committee (ENVI) rejects an element of the European Green Deal. Previously, two affiliate committees, agriculture (AGRI) and fisheries (PECH), had struck down the text.

As a result, the legislation will be sent to plenary in its original form, as proposed by the European Commission, with a recommendation to be scrapped in its entirety.

The decisive vote is expected to be held in the week of 10 July.

Non-attached lawmakers and independent-minded conservatives could tip the balance and save the draft text, although this is far from guaranteed.

If the hemicycle does follow the advice of the 88-member committee, the legislative process will come to an end: MEPs will not be able to enter negotiations with member states, which have already agreed on a common position, and the law will be effectively dead.

A bitter political saga

Tuesday’s knife-edge vote took place amidst a political atmosphere of unprecedented hostility against the draft piece of legislation.

Over the past months, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the largest formation in the parliament, has mounted an incessant negative campaign against the Nature Restoration Law, which the group sees as a direct threat to the traditional livelihoods of European farmers, fishers and forest managers.

The EPP describes the law as a case of “good design, bad intentions” and says its legally-binding targets to rehabilitate land areas will disrupt supply chains, decrease food production and raise prices for everyday consumers.

“Three strikes, you are out! ,” the EPP tweeted right after the committee vote. “Withdraw this law immediately!”

The claims put forward by the conservatives have been forcefully contested by progressive parties, environmental NGOs, climate scientists and the renewable energy industry, which argue nature restoration and economic activity are two compatible goals that can thrive side by side.

“Nature lost a battle today, but we will continue fighting in plenary,” said César Luena, the socialist MEP who serves as the law’s rapporteur. “It’s high time to focus on reversing biodiversity loss rather than these political games.”

Luena called on EPP Chair Manfred Weber to “come to his senses” and stop his “personal crusade” against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whose green agenda has put her at odds with her fellow EPP members.

“It’s a disgrace that politicians and lobbyists have spread the lie that nature and farming are somehow in conflict – the whole parliament must ignore that nonsense and vote to restore Europe’s precious nature,” Greenpeace said in reaction to Tuesday’s session.

An increasingly large number of private companies have also backed the law, a sign of the high stakes of the bitter political saga.

Earlier this month, CEOs and top executives from 50 companies, including IKEA, Nestlé, H&M, Iberdrola and Unilever, signed a joint letter urging lawmakers to “urgently” adopt rules on nature restoration to create legal certainty for businesses, ensure fair competition and foster innovation.

“Our dependence on a healthy environment is fundamental to the resilience of our economies and, ultimately, our long-term success,” the CEOs wrote.

What is the Nature Restoration Law?

The Nature Restoration Law was first presented by the European Commission in June 2022 as part of the European Green Deal and the 2030 biodiversity strategy.

The legislation, referred to as the “first continent-wide, comprehensive law of its kind,” aims to rehabilitate habitats and species that have been degraded by human interference and climate change.

According to the Commission, 81% of European habitats are in poor status, with peatlands, grasslands and dunes hit the worst.

The law sets out legally-binding targets in seven specific topics, such as farmlands, pollinators, free-flowing rivers and marine ecosystems, that put together should cover at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030.

In the now-rejected amended text, MEPs had boosted the goal to 30% in order to align the bloc with the landmark deal that was achieved in December at the end of COP15 in Montreal.

Under the legislation, governments would be asked to draft long-term plans on nature restoration, laying out the projects and initiatives they wish to pursue in order to meet the overarching targets.

Possible actions include planting trees, beekeeping, rewetting drained peatlands and expanding green spaces in urban areas.

Upon its presentation, the Nature Restoration Law was well received by environmental organisations, which hailed the legally-binding targets and the far-reaching scope, but triggered a significant backlash from farmers, fishers and foresters, who later called it an “ill-thought out, unrealistic and unimplementable” proposal bound to have “devastating consequences.”

The EPP built upon this reaction to launch its opposition campaign, which critics say is heavily influenced by the upcoming European elections and the emergence of the sudden rise of BBB, the agrarian populist party that has disrupted Dutch politics.

This piece has been updated with new details about the vote.