OCEAN SIDE OR ECOCIDE
13.04.2023
In June last year, the European Commission tabled a new Nature Restoration Law, which for the first time introduces legally-binding targets to restore degraded ecosystems and reverse biodiversity loss.
However, EU countries appear reluctant.
Once again it looks like nature will lose out to profit.
Especially if the eight members of the EU Fisheries Committee featured in our posters have their way. All eight act on behalf of industrial fishing, one of them is even the sister of a major fishing fleet owner. And all eight will be voting in the last week of May at the EU Parliament alongside their right-wing and conservative friends. All of them have been critical of the Nature Restoration Law proposal, which for the first time sets legally-binding targets on Member States to restore 20% of the EU’s land and seas by 2030.
One of the main issues is to tackle the dysfunctional legal process outlined in the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) on which the Nature Restoration Law (NRL) relies to implement fishery restriction measures for restoration purposes.
The fate of the Ocean depends on us all.
Our interventions depend on your support.
As things stand, conservation measures contained in the NRL can be blocked by Member States that want to promote fishing over restoration. If this happens the NRL is not a law, instead it becomes the Nature Restoration Option – opt in or out it’s your choice. And we know where that will lead – EU governments will opt out preferring the easy economic wins over the harder decisions required for progressive change. If the EU grasps this nettle now it can become a leading light, not just in the restoration of nature but also in the just transition of jobs. Shifting subsidies away from destructive industries and towards restorative ones.
The restoration of 20% of nature is a good start but Ocean Rebellion considers this to be just a start. The EU must be more radical, 20% must be a near term aim with 80% restoration as a its long term aim. Imagine what Europe will look like with 80% of its nature restored – anything less than this is a failure of the imagination.
Ocean Rebellion also demands the EU Parliament and Council support the proposal to make Member States legally responsible for restoring nature, and give EU citizens the right to sue Member States for failing to comply.
The fate of the Ocean depends on us all.
We’ll let you know what we’re doing to help.
