An online public consultation on the development of legally binding EU nature restoration targets for 2030 was launched by the European Commission on Monday 11 January.
The consultation is part of the EU’s new biodiversity strategy, which aims to protect at least 30% of land and marine areas by 2030.
A proposal for a European regulation aimed at restoring degraded ecosystems, particularly those with the greatest potential for carbon capture and storage and for preventing and reducing the impact of natural disasters, is expected at the end of the year (in the fourth quarter of 2021), in line with the roadmap published last November (see EUROPE 12596/14).
The consultation exercise was deliberately launched on the day of the ‘One Planet’ summit for biodiversity, organised by France, the United Nations and the World Bank to boost global action and ambition ahead of the COP15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (see other news).
“Human activities have significantly altered three quarters of the Earth’s lands and two thirds of oceans in recent decades, destabilising our climate and our natural life support systems. Restoring natural ecosystems is a triple win for nature, climate and people. It will help solve the biodiversity crisis, tackle climate change and reduce the risks of future pandemics. It can also stimulate recovery in a post-pandemic world, creating jobs and sustainable growth”, commented the European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius.
The Commission is also preparing an impact assessment to support the development of these objectives by evaluating their potential environmental, social and economic impacts.
This consultation is open until midnight Brussels time on 5 April. The Commission states that the impact assessment and the contributions to the public consultation will feed into its future proposal for a regulation. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)