Negotiators from the Parliament and Council reached a provisional political agreement on the EU nature restoration law. Co-legislators agreed on an EU target to restore at least 20% of land and 20% of sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. To reach these targets, EU countries must restore at least 30% of habitat types covered by the new law to a good condition by 2030, increasing to 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050. Statements by Cesar LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), Chair of ENVI, Teresa RIBERA, Third Deputy Spanish Prime Minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.

statement

Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

fight against climate change (T)

CANFIN, Pascal (Renew, FR)

LUENA, César (S&D, ES)

European Green Deal (T)

Delivery EE2024 (T)

RIBERA, Teresa (ES)

nature restoration law (T)

EU Nature restoration law: statements by Cesar LUENA (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), Chair of ENVI, Teresa RIBERA, Third Deputy Spanish Prime Minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), C&#233;sar LUENA (S&amp;D, ES), Rapporteur, The impressions of the negotiations. We've been actually negotiating these eight or ten hours for a year and a half, and that's the final part that results in a conclusion. After 70 years of starting the European construction project, we are going to have a common policy for the restoration of nature, which is very important, because it not only solves the state of ecosystems that are degraded, but it also works. It is useful for combating the effects of climate change. Therefore, it is a very important policy. It is not for nothing that we have signed international commitments for the restoration of nature, as well as for the protection and conservation of species.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), C&eacute;sar LUENA (S&amp;D, ES), Rapporteur, So, what we have achieved today is the first, almost definitive step towards a law of nature, a law of biodiversity in Europe. For the first time, as I say, a common restoration policy. I think that there will be no difficulty so that we can ratify it both in the Council and in the member countries, such as in Parliament. And I also want to talk a little bit about my political family and the role that we Social Democrats have played. I think that from the beginning, with the Biodiversity strategy, which was the first step we took, we have demonstrated a 100% commitment to nature, to biodiversity, which is absolutely compatible with the defense of the interests of other sectors. Because when we are talking about recovering and restoring rivers, forests, peat bogs, wetlands, our seas, we are talking about a common good, a social good and that is why we have worked. We have achieved this with the method that European society and politicians do best in Europe, which is the transaction, the pact and therefore I end up as I began. Today, we have already laid the groundwork for a law on biodiversity and a common policy for the restoration of nature. 70 years later I was already playing. 

SOUNDBITE (English), Pascal CANFIN (Renew, FR), Chair of ENVI, We have just closed the negociation. We have deal on the nature restoration law. It's the first ever law in Europe that will not only protect nature restore nature because we know that we are losing every year a lot of species in Europe. We need to counter this, we need to restore nature, which is good of course for nature but also good for us because we are dependent on nature so we need nature to thrive, it's not the case today, so with this law things will be better.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Teresa RIBERA, 3rd Spanish Deputy Prime Minister; Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, It's almost 23:00 at night and we've been negotiating trilogue between Parliament, the European Commission and the Council for almost 11 hours. We have reached an agreement that I think is very important. An agreement that revalidates the efforts of Europeans, of European institutions to facilitate the restoration of ecosystems, because it is no longer enough just to protect and conserve. We need to ensure that we are able to recover, to restore what generates not only life, but also economic services, social services that impact the well-being of people and the viability of most of our activities, including, of course, food security.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Teresa RIBERA, 3rd Spanish Deputy Prime Minister; Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge,An agreement that not only sets dates and objectives, but also highlights the important role that the combination of measures at the national level with support at European level must play, with obvious respect for the situation in which, for unexpected reasons of emergency, it is not possible to meet some of these objectives within the expected time frame, with flexibilities for those situations that may occur, that go beyond the capacity of the efforts that Member States can implement. But above all, we are committed to the restoration of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, to the preservation of our nature, to the possibility that we can have a healthy Europe, with soil, with territory, with marine spaces that are healthy, alive and full of life. 