For the restoration of nature national plans within two years

The watchword is restoration. Or restoration of natural capital, just like for works of art. The Nature restoration law, the regulation surprisingly approved by the EU Council on 17 June after a troubled two-year process and with Italy voting against, marks a step change in the protection of biodiversity. The regulation is one of the key texts of the Green deal and puts on paper the EU's commitments to respect the National Biodiversity Framework sanctioned by the UN in 2022 in Montréal. For the first time, Europe has binding targets that will come into force 20 days after publication in the EU Official Journal, expected shortly.

After all, the starting picture sketched by Brussels is not very comforting: 80% of European habitats are in poor condition, 10% of bees and butterflies are at risk of extinction, and 70% of land is in degradation. Hence the target for the Twenty-Seven to implement effective restoration measures for at least 20 per cent of terrestrial (forests, grasslands, wetlands, lakes) and marine ecosystems in poor condition by 2030 to reach total restoration by 2050. In particular, the agricultural sector will have to focus on three indicators: improvement of the common butterfly index, percentage of area with landscape features with high diversity, organic carbon stock in cultivated mineral soils. Environmental associations rejoice, while farmers fear they will have to pay too high a price for the turnaround.

"The main novelty of the regulation," explains Alessandro Leonardi, managing director of Etifor, an environmental consulting company founded as a spinoff of the University of Padua, "is the paradigm shift: we are moving from a passive protection approach to a restoration approach. To use a sports metaphor, from now on we will play on the offensive'. Companies, he adds, 'should not be afraid because the rules are now clear and the new paradigm will represent a business and innovation opportunity for them. While regenerative agriculture may be the answer to the efforts required of the sector'.

The ball is now moving to the territorial level: by mid-2026, countries will have to adopt national recovery plans - on which the agricultural associations are calling for 'common sense' - in which they will set out in detail how they intend to achieve the targets by 2050, with a timetable. They will also have to send annual reports to Brussels on the progress and implementation of the planned measures. If they fail to meet the targets they will risk infringement proceedings. And as in every European regulation there is the possibility of an emergency brake, in this case in 2033. At that time, the Commission will review and evaluate the implementation of the rules and their impact on the sectors involved, as well as the wider socio-economic effects. At the moment, according to the latest estimates of the EU executive, each euro invested in the restoration would offer a return of between EUR 4 and EUR 38.

"To give impetus to the implementation of the new rules," concludes Leonardi, "private financing instruments with a leading role in sustainable finance will be decisive: dedicated operators are emerging, ready to invest in companies that have embarked on nature-based paths. The Italian business & biodiversity working group was set up last October on the initiative of Etifor, the Forum for Sustainable Finance, the Lombardy Region and the European Business & biodiversity platform. About a hundred companies and investment funds that intend to contribute to a 'nature positive' future have already joined.