Over 140 civil society organisations have penned an open letter sounding the alarm over the recent rollback of environmental measures in the EU ahead of the European Parliament’s elections scheduled for next month.
Signatories include environmental non-profits the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Greenpeace, and Friends of the Earth Europe, as well as the international NGO Global Witness.
“Our society’s relationship with the nature that sustains it is fundamentally broken,” said the letter.
“Despite the growing evidence of looming ecological collapse and the alarming acceleration of the climate crisis, European governments and EU politicians are currently blocking new measures to protect nature and tearing up ones already in place,” it adds.
The letter comes less than one month before the EU elections take place, between 6-9 June, and references recent setbacks for EU measures such as the nature restoration law and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
The former, which sets the target of restoring at least 20% of the EU land and sea areas by 2030, still lies in limbo after the EU Council failed to clinch a deal in March.
Under the bill, member states would have to restore at least 60% of habitats in poor condition by 2040 and at least 90% by 2050, with some flexibility for very common and widespread habitats.
And while EU countries reached an agreement on the CSDDD, which sets due diligence rules for large companies, its scope and requirements were significantly loosened, with approximately 5,500 firms covered by the directive, down from the initial 16,000.
FROZEN PLANS
“Some national governments have frozen EU plans to restore nature in Europe and compromised corporate due diligence rules protecting human rights and the environment,” the letter said.
“Now, the European Commission wants to scrap basic environmental standards for farms to appease industry lobbyists, and agriculture ministers are threatening the EU’s new rules to fight global deforestation.”
Last month, Austria’s agriculture minister asked the European Commission to delay the EU anti-deforestation regulation, which would prevent commodities linked to deforestation from being imported into the bloc.
The call was echoed by several EU countries, including Germany and Latvia, as well as the Australian government and US wood-related trade groups.
“Nature is not in conflict with our society’s ability to thrive, it is the very foundation of it,” said the letter.
“But some politicians in European capitals, and in the EU institutions in Brussels, are accelerating the nature and climate crisis, and risking the lives of the people they represent. We urge you to stop before it is too late.”
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
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