Europe's nature restoration proposal looks doomed to fail

Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg was among those who gathered outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday, urging the 705 MEPs to pass the proposal which has proved politically divisive across the continent.  Picture: Johan Nilsson/TT News/AP

Europe's most comprehensive nature restoration proposal for three decades is expected to fail at the final hurdle.

While frantic last-minute negotiations will continue before today's 11am vote in the European Parliament, political insiders fear the European Commission's proposal to restore nature across the bloc will be narrowly defeated.

The proposal aims to restore at least 20% of the EU’s damaged land and sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems by 2050, with environmental campaigners saying it is urgently needed to tackle the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

However, the European People's Party (EPP) grouping in the European Parliament, of which Fine Gael is a member, has vehemently opposed the proposal, claiming it will harm farming and food production, despite hundreds of scientists saying it will not do so.

However, Fine Gael’s MEPs have now signalled that they will vote for the nature restoration proposal in direct opposition to the EPP’s position, albeit subject to amendments in the final texts.

Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune said she would be voting for amendments “that will ensure new funding, separate to the current common agricultural policy (CAP), is made available to farmers and landowners in order to support them in reaching restoration targets”.

Ms Clune added: “We all have a responsibility to protect the environment and biodiversity while safeguarding farming and rural communities.” 

Fellow Ireland South MEP Sean Kelly said he “will vote for a Nature Restoration Law that meets Ireland’s responsibility to protect the environment and biodiversity while safeguarding farming and rural communities”.

He added: “I want to start with the facts. Ireland is facing a biodiversity crisis. This is experienced first-hand by our farmers and fishers, who are custodians of our land, rivers and seas and who see the everyday impact on their businesses.

“There are many problems in the original Commission proposal, but the amendments tabled offer the opportunity to correct the proposal and build a much more consensus-based proposal. I will be supporting amendments to the Nature Restoration Law that will deliver on a better deal for the agricultural community. For this reason, I cannot support rejecting the proposal outright.” 

They were joined by Frances Fitzgerald, Colm Markey, and Maria Walsh in saying they would not vote against nature restoration.

While Fine Gael MEPs crossing over to those who support the proposal was broadly welcomed, some environmental campaigners criticised Mr Kelly’s preferred amendments as weakening nature restoration so much as to render it ineffective.

Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg was among those who gathered outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday, urging the 705 MEPs to pass the proposal which has proved politically divisive across the continent.

Political insiders are expecting the vote to be defeated by around 340 votes to 320, unless a last-minute compromise can be found, but this is looking highly unlikely.

Division around the vote has been seen at home, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's position that it "goes too far" in direct contradiction to the Fianna Fáil TD and Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue and Green Party leader and Environment Minister Eamon Ryan, who have accused opponents as "scaremongering".

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