FfB Foundation’s reaction to EU Council’s position on Nature Restoration Law
In response to a proposal by the EU Council for the Nature Restoration Law, the Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Foundation is announcing that it supports a strong law to restore ecosystems for people, the climate and the planet.
The Nature Restoration Law is a key element of the EU Biodiversity Strategy, and includes an overarching restoration objective for the long-term recovery of nature in the EU’s land and sea areas, with binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species.
Mirova, a member of the FfB Foundation, and Triodos Bank, a signatory of the FfB Pledge, commented on the proposal by the EU Council for the Nature Restoration Law.
Philippe Zaouati, CEO of Mirova, said: “This proposal represents a broad and ambitious binding legislation to protect and restore all ecosystems – a necessary and welcome next step to halt the erosion of biodiversity in all landscapes, whether natural, urban, terrestrial or marine.
“We hope this proposal translates into a majority vote in the European Parliament. The balance between an objective and a framework harmonised at global level, and the possibility for each country to implement them with a degree of flexibility, is a healthy one, but we need to pay close attention to the practical applications that could result from this flexibility. It is also worth mentioning that the proposal serves to further emphasise the critical need to be able to assess the health of biodiversity – a major challenge for us all.”
Carlijn Kamp, team lead impact and advocacy at Triodos Bank, said: “EU Member States have shown commitment to a Nature Restoration Law with legally binding restoration targets, which sends a strong signal to the European Parliament.
“We support some of the additions of the Council, including the request for a comprehensive mapping of the financial resources available for nature restoration and identifying funding gaps. This is important since every euro spent can add between 8 to 38 euros in economic value through job creation, protection of assets and creation of new markets.
“Still, we are worried about some of the changes in the Council’s position, including the substantial weakening of the non-deterioration provision. Likewise, the targets for restoring peatlands and forests have been weakened. The Council also included the possibility of derogation of nature restoration targets for renewable energy projects. Nature restoration and renewable energy generation should and can go hand-in-hand.”
The statements come ahead of the plenary vote in the EU Parliament on the nature law scheduled for probably the week of 10 July. MEPs from the environment committee ran out of time to finalise their position on the nature law, and will finalise their vote on 27 June.