Negotiators from EU countries and the European Parliament late on Thursday evening agreed to the deal, which would
require countries to introduce measures restoring nature on 20% of the EU’s land and sea by 2030.
The law will now be put before the European Parliament and EU countries for final approval. That step is usually a formality that waves through pre-agreed deals.
By 2030, EU countries must launch measures covering 30% of their habitats in poor condition, such as grasslands, rivers, and forests. The aim is to
reverse the decline of Europe’s natural habitats, 81% of which are classified as being in poor health.
Governments would be required to avoid significant deterioration in healthy habitats and introduce targeted measures to increase two out of these three:
grassland butterfly populations, nature-friendly features like hedges on farmland, and carbon storage in soils.
Proposed targets to restore peatlands were weakened after pushback from some countries. Peatlands are
water-logged ecosystems like bogs, which can contribute to fighting climate change because of their capacity to store CO2 emissions.
The regional director for biodiversity group Birdlife, Ariel Brunner, told Reuters on Friday, November 10, that although it was “disappointing” to see the text watered down, the law is still a good one.
“It’s potentially a milestone in the attempt to deal with biodiversity in the climate crisis,” he said.
“It does remain a law that can give us a fighting chance of getting ourselves out of the mess we are in.”
