The EU finally approved the Nature Restoration Law on Monday, June 17, during a Council meeting in Luxembourg. This was thanks to Austria's Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler, who was bold enough to defy not only her conservative coalition partners, but also the Austrian federal chancellor Karl Nehammer – who was not happy about her move. Nehammer issued an official note on Sunday urging Gewessler "not to give her consent" to the Nature Restoration Law, saying the Austrian climate minister is "not entitled to commit" the country in such regard.
But Leonore Gewessler stood her ground and cast Austria's vote in favour of adopting a European nature restoration law, thereby tipping the balance in Brussels.
Slovakia, which had previously expressed doubts, also voted in favor, allowing the law to pass with a slim majority of 20 countries, representing 66% of the EU's population. A qualified majority requires 65%.
EU negotiators from the European Parliament and Council had reached a challenging agreement on the legislation in November. But Italy, Sweden, and Finland had long opposed the law. Hungary, persuaded by the Swedish Minister of Agriculture, withdrew its support in March, and Poland followed suit shortly before the final vote.
In Parliament, the law faced significant opposition from the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), concerned about its impact on agriculture. This opposition grew following recent farming protests.
Despite a last-minute pushback from right-wing lawmakers, Parliament approved the compromise text in February with 329 votes in favor and 275 against.
The new regulation sets legally binding targets to restore 20% of the EU’s degraded land and sea ecosystems by 2030, and all ecosystems by 2050.
To meet these goals, EU countries must improve at least 30% of habitats covered by the law—such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, rivers, and lakes—by 2030, and 90% by 2050. Countries must also ensure these areas do not deteriorate after being restored.
However, the final version of the law eased many requirements for the farming sector by adding an “emergency brake” to suspend targets affecting agriculture under exceptional circumstances that threaten food security.
The law will take effect 20 days after being published in the EU Official Journal.
Leonore Gewessler, Environment Minister, Austria.
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Such contrast to other ministers! We need more bold leaders like Leonore Gewessler 💚
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Dear Markus Lutteman Your climate love has received over 50 agrees! We have reached out to Leonore Gewessler by email and requested a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! To reach more people and increase the chance of a response, click the Share button above to share the review on your social accounts. For every new member that joins We Don't Have Time from your network, we will plant a tree and attribute it to you! /Adam, We Don't Have Time
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The world needs more of such bold leaders
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Great leader
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That's what we need: bold leadership!