Every Irish MEP voted in favour of a highly controversial EU “Nature Restoration” law, which critics say will be a “disaster” for rural communities across Europe.
The law passed today in the European Parliament by a close vote of 336 votes in favour and 300 opposed, with 13 MEPs who abstained. A full list of supporting Irish MEPs, including opposition parties like Sinn Féin, and Independents like Luke “Ming” Flanagan, can be viewed below this article.
The legislation, which is part of the European Green Deal, will impose legally-binding green “recovery” measures on at least 20% of the EU’s overall land and sea territories by 2030 to fight climate change. By 2050, all ecosystems in need of restoration will be covered, and under this plan, member states will be required to engage in restoration processes. These include tasks such as rewetting drained peatlands to meet climate targets, as Bord Na Móna is currently re-employing its staff to do.
As the government ends briquette production to meet climate goals, up to 73% of workers at an Offaly briquette factory have opted for redundancy as they “weren't attracted by the jobs being offered them by Bord na Móna.”#gripthttps://t.co/xP6Vjv2JdW
— gript (@griptmedia) July 11, 2023
Ahead of the vote, however, the law was slammed by the European People’s Party (EPP) – the largest political group in the European Parliament, with 177 Members from all EU Member States. Fine Gael is a member of this group, but voted against its own party.
Hitting out at the law, the group said that the motion “should be rejected.”
“The law states that we should restore nature in 20% of areas that are “in need of restoration” by 2030 and repair them completely by 2050,” the group said.
“The problem is we do not know which areas would be affected, and the Commission is refusing to tell us. What we do know is that the definition is so broad that the legal application could affect almost all European territory.”
The EPP said that while the law may be well-intentioned, its effect would be far from benign, saying that it would be “a disaster for rural communities, farmers and fisherman and public authorities having to deal with the legal consequences.”
“That is why we are convinced that we must vote to reject the Commission proposal. We are guided by science, but also by social and economic realities that affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people in Europe. They should be taken seriously.”
They added that the current law could have a profound impact on planning processes for local authorities across the EU.
“As it stands, the law will have massive consequences for the planning and permitting procedures for local, regional and national authorities in all Member States,” the EPP said.
“The main instrument the law proposes is to reduce productive land, forest and sea areas to allow restoration to take place – an idea that already exists in the Common Agricultural Policy, called set-aside, and which obliges farmers to not use 4% of their land to allow for nature to recover.
“The results of set-aside are good for nature, but they also reduce food production which drives up prices.”
“In fact, we immediately paused the set-aside when the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatened global food security. Our farmers should produce as much as possible to help us absorb the negative consequences of the war. They deserve our gratitude, not our criticism.”
The group added that even with this “emergency measure,” Europeans are still suffering from higher food prices due to inflation, with food prices up more than 20% in some countries.
“In these circumstances, it is simply irresponsible to reduce food production in any way,” the group said.
“In the Nature Restoration Law, the Commission proposes reducing productive land, forest and sea areas by a staggering 10%. Even the Commission admitted this will reduce food production. We refuse to accept this.”
The EPP further said that the law would allow NGOs and climate radicals like Extinction Rebellion to take governments to court on climate grounds to “slow down or totally block economic activity.”
“This law will add another instrument to the toolbox of Extinction Rebellion and other climate NGOs to take governments to court based on European laws, to slow down or totally block economic activity in some areas,” they said.
“Instead of shutting down governments via legal procedures, we should create laws that provide a realistic and effective way to achieve our climate and biodiversity goals.”
Notably, in Ireland, NGOs like An Taisce have already used repeated Supreme Court challenges to object to projects like a potentially-lucrative €140m Glanbia cheese plant on climate grounds, causing significant delays.
Objections halt €140m Glanbia cheese plant https://t.co/uKwX3gkqfr
— Irish Examiner Business (@ExaminerBiz) December 21, 2019
The EPP added that the law was asking lawmakers to do “the impossible” – namely, “turn back 70 years of changes to nature in about 25 years.”
“These goals go far beyond our international commitments we signed up to, and it achieves its goal by reducing productive land, forest or sea areas without any consideration of the social and economic consequences,” they said.
The group said that some politicians in Europe seemed to be of the view that “climate and nature considerations outweigh all other concerns,” adding that the real debate is “all about the impact of climate change policies on the lives of Europeans.”
Defending the overall thrust of the legislation last month, Sinn Féin MEP Chris McManus said that it “secures vital progress in terms of nature protection and restoration.”
“Of course we need a plan to restore nature. This is not in dispute. It is about finding the best and most effective way to do this,” he said.
Irish Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, also celebrated the vote result today, calling it a “great day for nature, for society and for our collective future.”
“This wouldn’t have been possible without the tireless and passionate efforts of so many across the EU and at home in Ireland,” he said.
After the vote, rapporteur César Luena said: “The Nature Restoration Law is an essential piece of the European Green Deal and follows the scientific consensus and recommendations to restore Europe’s ecosystems.”
He added that farmers and fishermen will “benefit” from the law, as “it ensures a habitable earth for future generations.”
“Our position adopted today sends a clear message. Now we must continue the good work, defend our ground during the negotiations with member states and reach an agreement before the end of this Parliament’s mandate to pass the first regulation on nature restoration in the EU’s history.”
Speaking of the legislation in a statement, the European Parliament said:
“Over 80% of European habitats are in poor shape. The Commission proposed on 22 June 2022 a regulation on nature restoration to contribute to the long-term recovery of damaged nature across the EU’s land and sea areas and to achieve EU climate and biodiversity objectives. According to the Commission, the new law would bring significant economic benefits, as every euro invested would result in at least 8 euro in benefits.
This legislation is responding to citizens’ expectations concerning the protection and restoration of biodiversity, the landscape and oceans as expressed in proposals 2(1), 2(3), 2(4) and 2(5) of the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe.”
Chris MacManus (SF)
Billy Kelleher (FF)
Barry Andrews (FF)
Frances Fitzgerald (FG)
Colm Markey (FG)
Maria Walsh (FG)
Deirdre Clune (FG)
Seán Kelly (FG)
Clare Daly (Ind)
Mick Wallace (Ind)
Luke Ming Flanagan (Ind)
Ciaran Cuffe (Green)
Grace O’Sullivan (Green)