[1/2]A bumblebee flies near a sunflower in a field in Neuville-Saint-Remy, France, August 7, 2022. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
BRUSSELS, July 12 (Reuters) – The European Parliament on Wednesday voted in favor of a hotly contested law to restore degraded natural ecosystems, saving environmental measures that centre-right lawmakers had campaigned to scrap.
The legislators of the European Union adopted the legal proposal with 336 votes in favor, 300 against and 13 abstentions. Lawmakers and member states will now negotiate the final text, with the aim of reaching an agreement before EU Parliament elections in 2024.
“We have won. It is a social victory: for scientists, for young people, for many companies and businesses, for the agricultural sector,” César Luena, the main negotiator of the law in Parliament, told reporters after the vote.
The decision came after months of political campaigning that exposed deep divisions between EU countries and lawmakers over the proposal, with government leaders warning that Europe is pushing too many environmental laws as part of its green agenda global
The European People’s Party (EPP), the largest group of lawmakers in the EU Parliament, led a campaign to reject the plan because it would harm farmers and put food safety at risk.
“It’s an empty victory,” said Manfred Weber, chairman of the EPP group. “We can only succeed in the green deal if we unite, which is obviously not the case with this bad law.”
The legislation will force countries to introduce measures to restore nature to a fifth of their land and sea by 2030. The aim is to reverse the decline of Europe’s natural habitats, 81% of which are classified as bad health.
“Restoring nature brings numerous benefits to farmers,” said EU lawmaker Mohammed Chahim. “It’s as simple as this: We can’t grow food in dead soil.”
Lawmakers and scientists have rejected the EPP’s claims, accusing the group of using misinformation for judicial votes ahead of next year’s EU Parliament elections. The group denies it.
“This law is not against anyone,” Luena said. “This is a law in the name of nature, not against any person.”
Luena thanked the scientists and young people who had supported the law, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who attended the EU assembly on Wednesday to watch the vote.
Brussels has already passed dozens of CO2 reduction laws to deliver the EU’s global green agenda, including its goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
But recent environmental proposals have hit resistance, particularly those that would require changes by farmers to deal with environmental pollution and the collapse of bee and butterfly populations.
EU lawmakers voted earlier this week to weaken another law to reduce pollution from farms.
Reporting by Kate Abnett, Marine Strauss, Bart Meijer and Charlotte Van Campenhout Editing by Mark Potter, Devika Syamnath and Ed Osmond
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