• Ar
  • Es
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Feature
  • Videos
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Feature
Videos
Infographs
In Pictures
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Europe
  4. 'Culture war against nature': Anti-restoration law MEPs denounced
Europe

'Culture war against nature': Anti-restoration law MEPs denounced

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 25 May 23:46

The nature restoration bill was proposed alongside related laws proposing a restriction on chemical pesticides in order to reverse Europe's disastrous loss of species.

  • A drone image shows San Biagio Island, affected by drought in Lake Garda, near Lido di Manerba, Italy, February 21, 2023. (Reuters)
    A drone image shows San Biagio Island, affected by drought in Lake Garda, near Lido di Manerba, Italy, on February 21, 2023. (Reuters)

MEPs have been accused of fomenting "a culture war against nature" after the fisheries and agriculture committees voted against the EU's biodiversity bill.

Last June, the European Commission proposed legally enforceable objectives for member countries to restore wildlife on land, in rivers, and at sea. The nature restoration bill was proposed alongside related laws proposing a restriction on chemical pesticides in order to reverse the continent's disastrous loss of species.

However, there is a growing danger that the legislation may be repealed totally due to resistance from agricultural, fisheries, and forestry lobbying groups, as well as some member states. The agricultural committee of the European Parliament voted on Tuesday to reject the nature restoration legislation, and the fisheries committee followed suit on Wednesday.

The nature restoration law is an important component of the European Green Deal, which is critical to achieving international climate and biodiversity obligations. On Monday, commission vice-president Frans Timmermans stated that there will be no further proposals.

To strengthen Europe's resilience to climatic shocks as the earth heats, the law intends to reverse the decrease of pollinating insects while restoring forests, coastal regions, and other ecosystems critical to the food supply. It was a critical component of the EU's negotiating position at COP15 last year in Montreal, where the globe committed to conserving 30% of the earth for wildlife.

The European People's Party (EPP) has asked for the natural restoration and pesticide ideas to be abandoned completely, while liberal MEPs are split on the topic as well. MEPs from both parties voted against the nature measures this week, infuriating NGOs.

Ariel Brunner, a regional director at BirdLife Europe, said, “Politicians are whipping up a culture war against nature, instead of facing up to reality. Without an urgent and massive nature restoration effort, we will simply not survive the climate and biodiversity crisis."

It is worth noting that the EU environment ministers will gather in Brussels next month to settle on a single view on the proposals.

Read next: EU deliberately failing to protect marine life

  • loss of species
  • EU
  • Climate crisis
  • restoration law

Trending Now

All
A pump jack lifts oil out of a well, during a sandstorm in Midland, Texas, U.S., April 13, 2018 (Reuters).

France 5's The Ghosts of Oil reveals lasting effects of 'zombie wells'

Trees fall over cars in Guam after a typhoon hit the US territory, May 25 2023. (Reuters)

Guam hit by the 'perfect storm of chaos' disabling basic services

Will Europe be able to meet a net-zero policy by 2050?

A messy nuclear slowdown for Europe

Most Read

The Middle East Stabilises, Against the Backdrop of a Great Unravelling

The Middle East Stabilises, Against the Backdrop of a Great Unravelling

  • Analysis
  • 28 May
In this image released by the Italian firefighters, a helicopter searches for missing passengers after a tourist boat capsized in a storm on Italy's Lago Maggiore in the northern Lombardy region, May 28, 2023 (AP)

Top Israeli intelligence official dead in Italy: Israeli media

  • Europe
  • 29 May
The domestically produced C919 passenger jet flies at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, Peoeple's Republic of China, 8 November 2022. (Reuters)

China is set to launch first commercial flight on its C919 plane

  • Asia
  • 26 May
Saudi Arabia's Hawiyah Natural Gas Liquids Recovery Plant which is operated by ARAMCO. (AP)

Tensions between Riyadh and Moscow on the rise due to oil prices: WSJ

  • MENA
  • 28 May

Read this

All
Pop artist Andy Warhol in New York, the United States, 1976 (AP)
US & Canada

Art dealer sentenced to 25 months for selling fake Andy Warhol works

  • 1 Jun
Former President Donald Trump watches the first round of the LIV Golf Tournament at Trump National Golf Club, Friday, May 26, 2023, in Sterling, Va. (AP)
US & Canada

New tape leaked of Trump speaking of classified information: CNN

  • 1 Jun
Hamid Nouri
MENA

Hamid Nouri breaks record for solitary confinement in Sweden

  • 1 Jun
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy listens at a news conference after the House passed the debt ceiling bill at the Capitol in Washington, May 31, 2023 (AP)
US & Canada

Debt ceiling bill overwhelmingly passes US House

  • 1 Jun
Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS