Tell EU decision makers to keep their Hands off Nature
Biodiverse, resilient ecosystems are the cornerstones of our wellbeing and economies, yet biodiversity is declining precipitously.
Six out of 9 interdependent planetary boundaries that regulate the resilience and stability of the Earth system have been breached. Each boundary crossed ramps up the risk of large scale, abrupt environmental changes.
Tipping points whose thresholds, if exceeded, could lead to irreversible consequences are teetering on the brink too.
Global carbon emissions reached a record high last year against a backdrop of worsening droughts, wildfires, floods and extreme weather events. Spanish and Portuguese wildfires are driving the worst EU season on record this year. Our Planet’s natural carbon sinks which absorb around half of all human emissions are starting to fail.
We possess all the scientific and technical knowhow as well as the means to prevent the greatest threat our species has ever faced. And how are European lawmakers facing up to the problem?
Six years ago, the red carpet was rolled out to herald the European Green Deal which set ambitious and timely targets for tackling these crises. Today, despite repeated warnings from scientists, both carpet and Deal are being rolled back.
Take the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The EU Parliament and Council both voted for a Commission proposal that weakened the environmental effectiveness of 5 out of 9 of its basic environmental standards, in favour of production and yields.
The European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) set up to halt global deforestation has been downgraded and postponed.
The wolf became the first species ever to have its protection status lowered under the Bern Convention and Habitats Directive. It won’t be the last.
The rapid expansion of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) threatens to degrade habitats and soils, and risks land and water industrialisation.
The Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR) which would have introduced EU-wide targets for pesticide reduction was rejected by the EU Parliament despite being backed by appeals from over 6,000 scientists and 1 million citizens.
Last but not least the Commission withdrew the Green Claims Directive which would have helped address the proliferation of misleading and unverified environmental marketing claims.
These decisions are undemocratic, unscientific and based on misinformation. They are politically motivated and send “highly regrettable and contradictory signals to the rest of the world”.
We cannot accept inaction as the new normal. We must speak out when baselines and laws are surreptitiously shifted. It took decades to build these laws. They are being unravelled in silence.