EU member states, the Netherlands, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Sweden are at odds with public opinion as they block the nature restoration law. A recent survey shows that 3 out of 4 citizens are in favour of the legislation.
The nature restoration law that is to respond to climate and biodiversity crises, has been in a stalemate since March when it lost the needed majority from member states as Hungary made last-minute U-turn. The survey was conducted by independent research agency Savanta with over 6,000 respondents across the six member states in the beginning of May 2024. It reveals that the majority of the citizens in these 6 countries believe that nature and biodiversity decline will have negative long-term effects on people, farming and the economy and that it must be tackled urgently by restoring ecosystems.
The nature restoration law received the biggest support in Italy with 85% of citizens backing it, followed by Hungary with 83%, and Poland with 72%. Only 6% of those surveyed disagreed that the law should be adopted. The full results can be consulted here.
We are asking these governments to also listen to the citizens, not only corporations whose business is to exploit nature. No one wins when the nature is deteriorating while everyone can win when we let nature bounce back.
Similar surveys were conducted in Austria and Belgium, two countries abstaining from previous votes on the Nature Restoration Law. In Austria, 77% of the population wants nature to be consistently protected and restored, with almost three-quarters of those surveyed specifically calling for “binding goals” to restore nature. In Belgium, 82% of people are strongly in favour of more nature restoration and over 84% believe that Belgian governments should make more efforts to restore at least 30% of nature on land and at sea in poor condition by 2030.
The results come on the heels of a powerful letter sent by 11 environment ministers, urging their counterparts to adopt the law at the upcoming Environment Council meeting on 17 June.
