Debating Biodiversity 🌳
and Argentina protests against environmental destruction
Dear Earth Citizens,
This week, we revisit the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, which we looked at last August. Since then, the proposed law went through a series of negotiations between the European Commission, Council and Parliament, while also receiving a lot of critique from farmers and Europe’s far-right.
On Wednesday February 27, the European Parliament approved the revised text of the Nature Restoration Law. This text now faces a final vote in the EU Council before being published in the EU Official Journal and entering into force 20 days later.
While the strength and scope of the Nature Restoration Law was reduced by lobby groups and the political parties representing their interests, it remains an important step towards a more environmentally aware and sustainable Europe. You can scroll down to read more.
🗞️ In Climate News
🇫🇷 France recorded over 5,000 deaths due to summer 2023 extreme heat.
🇮🇩 Indonesia turns traditional Indigenous land into nickel industrial zone.
🇦🇷 Argentine resistance hinders Milei’s forest and glacier destruction.
🇨🇱 A highway project in Chile threatens one of the world’s longest-living tree species.
📈 Cool Trends
♾️ eco-story
Debating Biodiversity:
the Nature Restoration Law
In August, we focused on the development of the European Union’s Nature Restoration Law, a key part of the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, or the Green Deal. This group of proposals and policies has the ambition of no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 and for economic growth to be decoupled from resource use. With the EU’s poor conservation record, the Parliament felt the need to sanctify climate action through policy.
The European Commission published the Nature Restoration Law on June 22 2022, a proposal for legally binding targets to revive forests, wetlands, sea and landscapes that have been adversely affected by human development, with emphasis on those with the most potential to capture and store carbon, and that prevent and reduce the impact of natural disasters. The focus was to safeguard at least 30% of EU land and 30% of EU seas designated as protected areas.
🌏 The Culture Column
📺 What we’re watching: All That Breathes
📸 Profile of the week: @climateincolour
📖 What we’re reading: Unbowed by Wangari Muikia
🤯 Amazing fact we learnt this week: Greenland sharks don't reach puberty until they're 150 years old.