THE EUROPEAN UNION presidency and parliament representatives have reached a provisional agreement on its nature restoration legislation, which aims to restore 20% land and sea habitats by 2030.
The deal on how the legislation will be implemented and what binding targets will be set has received a divided response in Ireland from farmers on one hand, and environmental activists on the other.
You can find out more about the Nature Restoration Law and how it will work in Ireland through our Explainer.
The measures included in the restoration plan that have sparked debate in Ireland are the rewetting of drained peatlands, and improving biodiversity in land used for agriculture and forestry, amongst others.
The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) today said that farmers will be “concerned” about aspects of the compromise reached on the legislation.
In particular, the IFA is concerned that one of the agreements reached by the European Parliament and European Council negotiators was the reintroduction of article 9 of the legislation, which relates to agricultural ecosystems.
IFA Environment Chair Paul O’Brien said that this development will have an impact on farming families, particularly those farming on drained peatland.
“Even with the amendments proposed, which sees the targets for rewetting drained peatland in agricultural use reduced and voluntary rewetting targets for farmers, the proposed law will impact production,” he went on to say.
“Under the agreed legislation, Ireland will be required to put in place restoration measures for organic soils in agricultural use on at least 30% of this land by 2030, with at least 25% of the area to be rewetted. This increases to 50% by 2050, with at least 33% of the areas to be rewetted,” O’Brien added.
He noted that there is an inbuilt “emergency brake” for targets, which can be used if there is a severe impact on food production.
The IFA once again said a full impact assessment should have been undertaken by Ireland and other member states so the EU understood the potential impact on food production before implementing the law.
O’Brien said that farmers are in support of nature restoration, but that in order to fully deliver targets, they need to be able to “fully understand” their impacts.
“Farmers must not be castigated for feeling that Europe is walking blindly into these targets without fully understanding the consequences,” he added.
Grace O’Sullivan, Irish Green Party MEP, has consistently backed the enactment of nature restoration legislation at an EU wide level.
She welcomed the news that a final deal on the legislation has been reached, and said that the agreement is particularly relevant for Ireland “which has the most depleted wetland habitats on the planet”.
O’Sullivan acknowledged that the final deal includes measures for restoring drained peatlands, which was one of the most controversial aspects of the legislation for conservatives in the European Parliament.
“The Nature Restoration Law we have on the table is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a crucial step to turning back the clock on our war on nature and discovering the benefits of nature restoration for our economy, our food production, not to mention public health.
“This is a landmark decision for climate and biodiversity,” O’Sullivan said.
Green MEP Ciarán Cuffe said that the agreement “should restore faith in the hearts and minds of hundreds of Irish people who have gotten in touch to support this law/
“A fair and pragmatic approach won out over a short-sighted attempt to kill off this legislation. Although significantly weakened, it offers hope that we can begin to reverse the decline of pollinators and restore our peatlands,” he added.
The Green party also welcomed the fact that the legislation will see the introduction of more green spaces in urban areas in Ireland.
A final vote on the nature restoration law is expected to take place in early 2024, after a process of legal scrutiny has taken place.
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