We celebrate the outcome of the EU member states’ environmental council on 17 June 2024 as it adopted the nature restoration law after a long struggle. This is a huge win for nature, climate action, citizens and future.
The nature restoration law proposal faced one of the most tumultuous journeys in the history of EU legislation and was attacked by disinformation campaign aiming to bury the NRL in the European Parliament. It also faced an additional challenge in the Council where it also took a twist and risked rejection at the last step. The necessary majority of the EU member states was finally reached as Austria with its environment minister changed the country’s previous stance at the last minute.
Now we need the member states to properly, without delay, implement the legislation so that the nature can rebounce, for the benefit of our climate, biodiversity, people and the economy.
JGI Belgium is proud to have been part of the EU-wide campaign and coalition #RestoreNature led by BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, EEB and WWF EU. Over the past few years, over a million signatures and messages from citizens, repeated calls from 6000+ scientists, 100+ businesses, youth organisations, and civil society from across numerous sectors were made to defend the law and the integrity of the EU Green Deal. We thank the leading NGOs for all their work for #RestoreNature coalition, and the other organisations and individuals at EU and national level, who helped make it happen.