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The European Parliament approved a major plan to protect nature and fight climate change in a cliffhanger vote on Wednesday.
In a test of the EU’s global climate credentials, MEPs supported the general outlines of the European Commission Nature Restoration Law proposals in a razor-thin 324-312 vote with 12 abstentions.
The Bill is a key part of the EU’s European Green Deal which seeks to establish the world’s most ambitious climate and biodiversity targets and make the bloc the global point of reference on all climate issues. The plans proposed by the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, set binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species, with the aim by 2030 to cover at least 20% of the region’s land and sea areas
.After weeks of intense haggling and despite the staunch opposition from the legislature’s biggest group, the European People’s Party, the plan survived the highly anticipated vote at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
Immediately, politicians started voting on more than 100 amendments to make the plan more flexible.
Approved amendments will be taken into negotiations with the member states and it will be months before a final law can be approved.
The European Commission wants the Nature Restoration Law to be a key part of the system as it is necessary for the overall deal to have the maximum impact.
Others say that if the EU fails on the nature restoration law, it would indicate an overall fatigue on climate issues.
The Bill long looked like a shoo-in as it gathered widespread support in member nations and was staunchly defended by the European Commission and its president, Ursula von der Leyen.
But Ms von der Leyen’s own political group, the Christian Democrat EPP, turned sour on it and now vehemently opposes it, claiming it will affect food security and undermine the income of farmers and disgruntle a European population focused more on jobs and their wallets.
##more indepth pieces in article ##
Like some other countries and leaders, they want to hit pause on such far-reaching climate legislation. - Additional reporting PA Naomi O’Leary
Naomi O’Leary is Europe Correspondent of The Irish Times European Parliament
I am pleasantly surprised that it got through. However, I think that the devil is in the detail:
Immediately, politicians started voting on more than 100 amendments to make the plan more flexible.
We’ll have to wait and see how much value is left following this teeth-pulling exercise.
think that the devil is in the detail:
Yes it’s perceived as "controversia"l from the start of th concept 30 years ago.
Not so much a detail as it was a big contingency. The article is informative about the pro and contra stances.
Like you also mentioned, I’m also pleasantly surprised.
A big first step, and let’s see how the law will end up in it’s final form and in real life.
Wow, it’s amazing that it was passed and was that close. I would have thought with the worldwide record temperatures, the ongoing wildfires, the mass extinctions, the melted glaciers, and the mass immigration away from heavily affected countries that world leaders would be more interested in fixing this.
in fixing this
On a world scale very little has been accomplished because world leaders and theirconstituents have different interest, problems and solutions. For example industry/jobs/food/housing / geopolitcs etc.
All world-wide organisations are actually petty much a miracle of existence, and still they can’t always provide solutions. Like the U.N.
To change the agenda you need to inform and democratically unify the “will of the people”. That can be extremely difficult.
