A proposed EU law aimed at restoring natural habitats threatens to undermine efforts to build wind farms and other renewable projects as the bloc struggles to reconcile cutting carbon emissions with restoring biodiversity.
Many governments have called for changes to be made Nature Restoration Bill, which would require EU members to reverse environmental damage. They want to make sure the bill does not impede offshore wind farms and other renewable energy infrastructure, or hinder economic development.
The law calls on countries to take “restoration actions” for marine habitats in poor condition that would cover 90 percent of them by 2050. It also requires them to fully “re-establish habitats” in other areas by 2050.
Seafloor and land restoration measures include re-wetting peat bogs in Ireland and the Baltic states, and planting trees and hedges on farmland, which reduces the amount of land available for production.
The centre-right European People’s Party, the largest group in parliament, wants the law to be repealed entirely.
Esther de Lange, environmental policy coordinator for the European People’s Party, along with several MEPs from the liberal Renew group, introduced an amendment asking the committee to withdraw the bill.
“It’s the first time I’ve done that in 16 years in Parliament,” she told the Financial Times.
“The commission is over the top. It increases the number of areas covered a lot. It will be very difficult to build renewable energy and infrastructure projects. Climate policy and industry must go hand in hand or the jobs will go to China.”
Some EU countries argue that rules need to be modified to take into account the rush towards decarbonization, which has been accelerated by the need to wean Russia off fossil fuels in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
Since its launch last June, the EU has increased its binding target for renewable energy to reach 42.5 percent of supply by 2030, nearly double the current share.
Just last year the EU agreed a strategy that would force member states to define “transition zones” for renewable energy projects with lighter planning controls.
Denmark has warned that the new law will threaten the development of wind farms in the North Sea, where there are big plans for a network of turbines connected to the UK and other countries.
Germany said it was essential that the turbine networks not overlap recovery areas under the mandatory plans, which would make development impossible.
But the German environment ministry said: “Smart planning will avoid conflicts by means of a national restoration plan as provided for in the EU regulation on nature restoration.”
Others worry that they will have to pay compensation to farmers unable to use the land. “If I take back the drained peat bog and use it, who pays the farmer for its loss?” asked an EU diplomat.
Some countries are also concerned about the “non-degradation” principle, according to which restored habitats cannot be harmed in the future. This would ignore other public priorities, such as housing, infrastructure, food production or investment in renewable energy, said Ingrid Thegesen, head of Dutch business organization VNO-NCW.
“A one-size-fits-all approach is inappropriate for such a basic policy,” she added. “It will bring the economy to a halt, home building and even the energy transition.”
A commission official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the proposal should not conflict with decarbonization efforts. “Restoration is not protection. Economic activity can still be allowed. Member states have a lot of flexibility in implementation.
“The proposal does not aim to slow down the deployment of renewables.”
In Western, Central and Eastern Europe, wetlands have shrunk by half since 1970, while 71 percent of fish and 60 percent of amphibian populations have declined over the past decade.
The aim is to cover at least five terrestrial and marine EU regions by 2030 with nature restoration measures, and to extend it to all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
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