Europe’s nature law survives another day
For now, European lawmakers are siding with the natural world. A key piece of legislation aimed at restoring the EU’s degraded ecosystems survived a tight vote on Wednesday after conservative politicians tried to kill the bill entirely. In the end, 336 MEPs voted in favour of new biodiversity rules, with 300 against and 13 abstentions. The result is embarrassing for Manfred Weber, the leader of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) who spent months arguing that the legislation would hurt farmers’ livelihoods. It’s a win for Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president and architect of the EU’s wider Green Deal. It’s better than nothing for the environment – the bill passed but with a lot of its ambition diluted out. And the tight result foreshadows more climate fights in future. Politico reports that the EPP’s gaze will likely turn to other key pieces of Green Deal legislation, such as a bill to limit pesticide use.
Photograph Sjoerd van der Wal/ Getty Images