European environment ministers have given the green light to the Nature Restoration Law, thanks to Austria changing its stance and ensuring the necessary

majority for approval.

The law had faced months of deadlock at the Council level, despite prior political agreement with the European Parliament. Austria’s Environment Minister, Leonore Gewessler, announced on Sunday that her country would support the law, paving the way for its adoption on Monday.

Out of the 27 member states, 20 voted in favor, six opposed, and Belgium abstained.

This key initiative of the European Green Deal sets ambitious targets for member states: restoring at least 20% of the EU’s degraded land and sea ecosystems by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.

The meeting of environment ministers was chaired by Brussels Minister Alain Maron, representing the Belgian EU presidency. “This is the result of hard work, which produced results. We have no time for a pause in protecting our nature,” Maron remarked following the vote.

The #RestoreNature coalition, which includes BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, the European Environmental Bureau, and WWF EU, celebrated the decision: “Today’s vote is a massive victory for Europe’s nature and citizens who have been long calling for immediate action to tackle nature’s alarming decline ... Now, we need all hands on deck: member states must properly implement this legislation without delay in their countries.” Photo by Bundesministerium für Finanzen, Wikimedia commons.