Nature restoration law ‘rescuable but not looking good’ after U-turns

Efforts are continuing behind the scenes to salvage the nature restoration law after last-minute backtracking by several European Union countries.

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said the law was “rescuable” although he remained very worried about it.

The landmark lawto stop and reverse the loss of nature and habitats on land and sea was passed by the European Parliament and was due to be rubberstamped by EU environment ministers last Monday. However, several countries changed their position and the lawwas dropped from the agenda.

No further meeting of the environment council is scheduled before the European elections in June, but Mr Ryan said the law could be stamped by any council.

A meeting of Ecofin, the council of economic and financial affairs ministers, is scheduled for April 12, and a council of foreign ministers meeting will take place later in the month.

Meanwhile, talks are under way to try to bring at least one of the U-turn countries back on board to give the law the necessary majority.

Mr Ryan said it would create serious problems if the lawwas jettisoned.

“It completely undermines the European legislative process,” he said.

“You enter into negotiations, you conclude a deal and then one side abandons it.

“Howwould any future deal be done when parliament might think, is it real or not?

“Secondly, it’s bad for nature and bad for farming.

“We’ve a real opportunity to create new income streams, to protect nature and to support a new generation to go into farming and forestry, and this would undermine it.

“It’s also very bad for climate change because nature-based solutions are a cornerstone to what we need to do and if we don’t start addressing that landuse element then everything else would be to no avail.

“It’s deeply worrying. It’s not concluded yet, but it’s not looking good,” he said.

Most Irish MEPs voted for the law and it has the Government’s backing.

However, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Hungary oppose it. Hungary was initially supportive and its last-minute change of mind has precipitated the crisis.

Austria, Belgium, Finland and Poland are not helping by planning to abstain.

Mr Ryan said Ireland would still devise nature restoration programmes, using some of the €3.15bn climate and nature fund created last October.

However, he said the lack of EU-wide action was no small issue.

“Withdrawing ambition on climate and nature protection is the last thing we need to be doing.”