The European Union (EU) Council passed the draft legislation for the 'Nature Restoration Law,' which mandates ecosystem restoration for EU member states, on the 17th (local time).
According to Yonhap News and local media, EU environment ministers held a council meeting in Luxembourg on the day and approved the draft Nature Restoration Law with the support of 20 member states representing 66% of the total EU population. For the bill to be approved, at least 15 out of the 27 member states (more than 55%) representing 65% of the EU population must vote in favor. Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, and Sweden voted against it, while Belgium, the EU presidency for the first half of the year, abstained.
The Nature Restoration Law requires restoring 20% of damaged terrestrial and marine ecosystems by 2030 and the entire ecosystem by 2050. It is a key piece of legislation in the 'Green Deal' roadmap launched by the European Commission in 2019, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and establish a sustainable industrial environment.
The draft passed the European Parliament in February but was delayed in the Council due to expanding farmer protests against environmental regulations and opposition from the center-right political group European People's Party (EPP) and some member states.
The final version passed on the day includes provisions to partially ease obligations affecting agriculture, such as an 'emergency brake' mechanism that suspends restoration targets in exceptional situations where food security is threatened.
The Nature Restoration Law will take effect 20 days after its publication in the official journal.
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