The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has welcomed the agreement on the text of the Nature Restoration Law, the first-ever binding EU law to restore 20% of European land and seas by 2030.
The IWT’s marine advocacy officer Grace Carr had said it is “a relief to know that a deal has been struck, although a much-weakened version will not be enough to combat the biodiversity and climate crisis we are facing”.
“It is important that there will be timelines in place to restrict destructive fishing practices in the EU and that member states show the ambition and resolution needed to ensure targets are met on land and sea,” she has said.
The negotiations between the EU Parliament, EU Commission and the Council on the text concluded late last week in Brussels.
“ The text is not as strong as the Commission's original proposal. However, all ecosystems (including agriculture, which was previously deleted from the Parliament’s text) have been included, albeit with many loopholes,” the IWT says.
“The final text has not yet been released, and so we do not know the full outcome as of yet,” the IWT said in an initial reaction.
“The next steps for this law will be an EU Parliament Environment Committee vote at the end of November, after which the law must be passed by a majority of MEPs in the full sitting of the European Parliament,” it says.
“Restoration of our damaged and degraded habitats is essential if we are to save nature within Ireland and Europe and secure the many direct benefits nature provides society, such as crop pollination, flood prevention and soil health,” the IWT says.
It has called on EU member states, MEPs and the public to “continue supporting this law in its final stages”.
