After a Bitter Fight, European Lawmakers Pass a Bill to Repair Nature
European lawmakers, after an unexpectedly bitter political battle, approved a bill on Wednesday that would require European Union countries to restore 20 percent of all degraded nature areas within their borders on land and at sea.
The measure, a key element of the bloc’s Green Deal environmental initiative, passed with 336 votes in favor, 300 against and 13 abstentions. It now goes to a committee of representatives from the E.U. executive, Parliament and national governments.
Negotiations on a final version could take months. But the vote on Wednesday at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, means the bloc is now required in principle to pass the measure into law.
The bill approved by Parliament was a modified version of the original proposal. Lawmakers had submitted more than 2,300 amendments, an unusual number, and accused one another of spreading disinformation. The law initially failed to pass three committee votes after marathon late-night sessions.
Source: The New York Times
