How can the EU ensure its Green Deal is a Real Deal for Nature and People?
Asthe EUlooksforwardtotherecovery fromCovid19, so too must it look to ensuring full alignment of all policies with the European Green Deal. Butit is notall down to the EU Commission, theMember Statesmust rise to the challenge to achieve a truly green recovery.
Our economic system desperately needs a transformation and the European Green Deal might just be the ticket to success. It underlines that all aspects of our lives are dependent on healthy ecosystems and recognises how narrow sectorial approaches have been unable to address the current planetary emergency.
EU Commission President von derLeyen sent a strong message about the importance of intensifiedholisticaction to preserve nature at the World Economic Forum, where she called for an ambitious . The EU must be a leader in this and ensure apost-2020 Global Biodiversity Frameworkin line with the vision of the European Green Deal and vice versa.
Nonetheless, for theGreen Dealto become a true game-changer, its ownership, solid implementing regulations, sufficient and targeted resource mobilisation for nature-based solutions and a strong assessment of the possible undesired effects outside of the EU need to be ensured.
The various sectors of society need to assume ownership of theGreen Dealand understand the benefits of being part of it – this will be key to reaching ‘a just transition for all’, one of the headline objectives. Convening stakeholders and creating a space for dialogue, something that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ϲʿֱֳ) systematically ensures in the context of its work, is critical to meeting this need. Discussions should be supported by science-based knowledge which ϲʿֱֳ provides, in particular through its renowned EuropeanRed Lists of Species, reports on various key environmental issues, and recently, the ϲʿֱֳ Global Standard on Nature-based Solutions (NbS).
Legislativepowers must be given to theGreen Dealto ensure proper implementationwith the full support from the EU Member States– fundamental instruments of implementation.Without their backing,the Green Dealrisks becomingthe umpteenth paper tiger of environmental policy.There are signs that Europe is moving in the right direction through the Plan encompassed in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the call by MEPs for for materialsuse and consumption footprint.
Although developing agreed and legally-binding national targets for the protection and restoration of nature is key,legislativeprocessestake time.EU MemberStates can andshould already pledge at national level to move beyond ‘business as usual’in order to rise up to the promises in the H, the Leaders Pledge for Nature and the coalition promoted by the EUand signed up to bya majority ofEU countries.
National pledges must be clear and include four key cornerstones: increase well-managed protected areas, restore degraded ecosystems, move species off the Red List and invest more resources in nature recovery. So far, we have not seen many pledges for nature or a real ambition through a coalition of willing MemberStates, as we have seen with climate change. However, this is still possible in the run-up to the ϲʿֱֳ World Conservation Congress in September and the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15) in October.– to restore 350mn hectares of degraded ecosystems by 2030 – also has an important role to bring about action in the short term, but not a single MemberState has provided a pledge here yet.
As always, the buck stops where the money stops. The EU will have to increase the mobilisation of private and public funding for NbS considerably, while the new sustainable finance regulation should fully embrace the investments in nature and immediately halt biodiversity-harming subsidies. Bringing the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in line with the Green Deal is a clear credibility test for the EU and we still need to see this happen. Moreover, natural capital accounting practices must be mainstreamed in the financial sectorand the Commission has taken a good first stepby its foreseen proposal toinclude a new module on natural capital accountinginEU legislation,fully consistent with therecently launched UNframework.Theϲʿֱֳ Global Standard on NbS offers great opportunities to create a level playing field for investing in and scaling up the necessary protection and restoration of nature, while providing social and economic benefits to society. NbS in Europe should be implemented according to this standard.
Finally, the Green Deal will not be credible if the EU doesn’t sufficiently consider its impact beyond its borders. The export of nature destruction goes against the very principles on which the green transition is built. Trade agreements need to reflect this; the ecological footprint of Europeans, which impacts nature in third countries, needs to be reduced drastically. To assure a global just transition, the EU will also have to multiply its support to developing countries to allow a fair share of natural capital to all.
The dramatic events of 2020 have caused the unleashing of an unprecedented amount of funding to rebuild our societies. It is our duty towards this and future generations to put nature at the core of all sustainable finance efforts.
Luc Bas, Regional Director for Europe, ϲʿֱֳ