Our planet is experiencing a biodiversity crisis. And the problem across the EU is also severe, with more than 80% of habitats in the EU now in a bad or poor conservation status. To reverse this alarming trend, the European Commission has proposed the Nature Restoration Law, which aims to restore at least 20% of EU land and sea by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.

The proposed law sets specific nature recovery targets and timelines for achieving them. According to the draft law, EU countries would need to submit National Restoration Plans to show how they plan to deliver against the targets. Country plans would be based in their national circumstance. Jointly, these country plans would restore ecosystem services beneficial to human society across the EU and aid the recovery of sensitive habitats like peatlands, grasslands, dunes and wetlands.

With the proposal now on the negotiating table, the conversation of how to address nature’s decline is heating up. As the European Commission, EU member states and European Parliament debate the specifics, some economic actors are actively lining up against the plan.

In the latest "Green Deal – Big Deal?" podcast episode, the hosts Ricarda Faber and Aaron Best from Ecologic Institute speak with interview guests Humberto Delgado Rosa (Director for Biodiversity at the European Commission) and Sabien Leemans (Senior Biodiversity Policy Officer for WWF). We discuss the decline of nature in the EU, the need to protect biodiversity, and the current political debate that could decide the fate of the Nature Restoration Law and the species it seeks to protect.

New episodes are released every month and can be accessed online or streamed on popular podcast platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Deezer, Google Podcasts or Amazon Music. Check out the website for more information on the podcast and webinar series.

Webinar series

Listening to our podcast is nice, but not enough for you? You are in luck! In addition to the podcast series, we are organizing a series of eight online events, targeting young Europeans aged 18-35.

The recordings of our first three webinars, Green Deal – Big Deal for Youth?", "Farm to Fork: Feeding a continent without wrecking a planet", and The EU's carbon-neutral future: Achieving net zero by 2050" are already available online.

Keep an eye on the upcoming webinars and join us and our invited experts. We are keen to hear your questions, suggestions and ideas and discuss them together. Are you on board? Sign up for our mailing list, and we'll keep you up to date with upcoming webinars.