MEPs at the European Parliament have called for a binding EU biodiversity law, similar to the EU climate law, in order to ensure that by 2050 the world’s ecosystems are restored, resilient and adequately protected.

On Tuesday last, the parliament adopted the resolution 'EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: bringing nature back into our lives', with 515 votes to 90 and 86 abstentions, addressing the current biodiversity crisis in Europe and the rest of the world.

MEPs have said they strongly regret that the EU has not achieved its 2020 biodiversity objectives and say the new strategy must adequately tackle all five main drivers of change: changes in land and sea use; the direct exploitation of organisms; climate change; pollution; and invasive alien species.

They have said that €20bn/year must be mobilised for biodiversity action in Europe

MEPs also request a 'Paris agreement' for biodiversity at the upcoming UN conference in October 2021 that will set global biodiversity priorities to 2030 and beyond.

Glyphosate

The MEPs have also opposed the reauthorisation of glyphosate after 31 December 2022.

They have repeated their call for the EU pollinators initiative to be urgently revised to include an ambitious EU-wide pollinator-monitoring framework with clear objectives and indicators to stop the population decline of pollinators, which are crucial for the environment and food security.

They stress that “to reduce the use of pesticides farmers need environmentally safe crop protection solutions”.