European parliament votes for watered-down law to restore nature

Farmers burned tyres yesterday in a protest in the heart of the EU district in Brussels. Photograph: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

The European parliament has given the green light to a watered-down law to restore nature, after weeks of fierce protests from farmers and a last-ditch attempt from rightwing parties threatened to sink the deal.

“Today is an important day for Europe as we move from protecting and conserving nature to restoring it,” said César Luena, a Spanish MEP from the centre-left Socialist and Democrats, who led negotiations on the proposal.

The new law – a key pillar of the EU’s contested green deal – sets a target for the European Union to restore at least 20% of its land and sea by the end of the decade. By 2050, that should rise to cover all ecosystems in need of restoration.

“This law is not about restoring nature for the sake of nature,” said the EU environment commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevičius. “It is about ensuring a habitable environment where the wellbeing of current and future generations is ensured.”

The centre-right European People’s party (EPP), the biggest group in the parliament, joined far-right lawmakers in voting against the law on Tuesday. It argued that its rules placed too big a burden on farmers but welcomed that the text, which it pushed to weaken last year, “bears little resemblance” to the original proposal.

“We do not want new and more forms of bureaucracy and reporting obligations for farmers,” said Siegfried Mureșan, a Romanian MEP from the EPP, before the vote. “Let farmers farm.”

The EU and its member states have rowed back on several plans to protect the environment as farmers’ protests have spread across the continent and in some cases turned violent. In a violent clash with riot police on Monday, farmers set fires to tyres, sprayed police with liquid manure, and drove tractors through blockades in the European quarter of Brussels where agriculture ministers were meeting.

The nature restoration law, which must be approved by the EU Council before it comes into force, calls on member states to restore at least 30% of drained peatlands by 2030 and make progress on indicators of agriculture biodiversity that include increasing the number of grassland butterflies and farmland birds.

Environmental groups praised the outcome of the vote, which passed with the support of 329 lawmakers and was opposed by 275.

A coalition made up of BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, European Environment Bureau and WWF EU said: “We are relieved that MEPs listened to facts and science, and did not give in to populism and fear-mongering. Now, we urge member states to follow suit and deliver this much-needed law to bring back nature in Europe.”

Nature is dying faster than humans have ever observed, according to a landmark review of the research from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services (Ipbes). In Europe, where 81% of habitats are in poor shape, the destruction of wildlife is set to cost farms and ecosystems as pollinators die out, soils degrade and extreme weather grows more violent.

The nature restoration law was subject to an intense and negative media campaign ahead of a key vote last year. In an open letter, 6,000 scientists criticised opponents of the law for spreading misinformation.

Since then, farmers have loudly protested against a range of policies to protect wildlife and cut pollution, which they say they cannot afford, as well as opposing trade deals with South America and imports of grain from Ukraine.

Luena said: “I would like to thank scientists for providing the scientific evidence and fighting climate denial, and young people for reminding us that there is no planet B, nor plan B.”