This is on a knife-edge
Paul Polman
Business, campaigning, younger me nearly a priest. 'Net Positive: how courageous companies thrive by giving more than they take' #3 Thinkers50
This week European lawmakers a have a historic opportunity to accelerate nature restoration and climate action - but it hangs in the balance
Next week the European Parliament will hold a make-or-break vote on a new Europe-wide law to protect nature and biodiversity. If passed, EU states will set binding targets to restore degraded ecosystems
With humanity presiding over staggering and accelerating ecological decline, everyone from politicians to farming unions, big business, investors, NGOs and citizens agree that something must be done. Globally, one million animal and plant species now?face extinction?thanks to human activity. Last year we lost an area of tropical forest the size of a football pitch every five seconds.
Yet despite broad agreement over the need to restore nature, and?over 6000?scientists calling on European politicians to face the facts, the debate in Brussels has become polarised. Opponents of the Nature Restoration Law, led by the president of the European People’s Party (EPP) Manfred Weber, say the reforms go too far and will hurt economic growth. Others, including from the EPP, have courageously spoken out in favour. Next week’s vote looks to be on a knife edge.
We shouldn’t be surprised that this proposal triggers strong feelings. It aims to cover at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. The 2030 target is actually less than was agreed at global talks in Montreal last year, where world leaders committed to putting nearly a third of the planet under protection in the same period. Nevertheless, Europe’s plan will touch the lives of millions, including the farming, fishing and forestry communities on the front line. It will require bold partnerships between growers, traders and retailers
But challenging as it is, this is the reality we face. Nature and climate cannot be decoupled and we have to move swiftly on each, or fail on both. Nature is a tremendous ally in fighting global warming: in the last decade the world’s oceans, plants, animals and soils absorbed?over half?of man-made greenhouse gases. But we’re trashing this ally and our twin nature and climate crises are now exponential, and fast outpacing our patchy and incremental solutions.
In June, the UK experienced yet another hottest month on record. At the same time, unprecedented numbers of dead fish floated down our rivers. How many more extreme weather events or biblical warnings will it take before we see the urgency of our situation? If we keep stalling the regulatory changes our world desperately needs because they are too ambitious, imperfect, or politically difficult, bluntly – we’re all toast.
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The Nature Restoration Law is not a perfect law: alone it won’t catapult us to a new economic model which restores and replenishes Europe’s ecosystems. But as any seasoned lawmaker or CEO will tell you, there is no such thing as a perfect proposal, and we should not let this become an excuse to give up. A vote to “pause” the law next week, as some are campaigning for, will be tantamount to killing it and putting Europe-wide progress on restoring nature far out of reach. Delay is the new denial and we cannot keep endlessly destroying our environment, driving up emissions and kicking the policy can down the road. Far better that Europe’s politicians keep us moving forward and use the current proposal as a launching pad for urgent reform.
Crucially farmers, fishers and foresters must be at the heart of this to ensure a just transition. We should understand why some want greater clarity over who will pay for the shift. They are the diligent stewards of our environment. They put food on our shelves and tables, increasingly in a global economy rocked by floods, droughts, war and inflation. They deserve a clear and firm commitment that improving their livelihoods
More broadly a clear European framework that gives governments and CEOs certainty over the rules and direction of travel will, in turn, help secure and stimulate the future investment
The immediate challenge is breaking the stalemate in a spirit of pragmatism and collaboration
This article first appeared in Euractiv and Ireland's Business Post
CE Expert (Blue Economy & Regenerative Designer via Permaculture), Industrial Designer - Co&Co Designcommunication Boutique Design Studio - Co-Founding Partner - Imago Venture Studio. Born in 333PPM.
1 年Paul Polman We used to say in permaculture that we are building the crow's nest. It won't be perfect. But the eagles who are not build will be tight later. But it will be perfect. It is in this spirit that the legislature must also work on the solution. ???? hope the best.
Civis Europaeus Sum ( C E S ) Gründer
1 年Human Paradigmata for the good in "Human Face of Globalisation" (Kofi Annan) in Davos and the call for the better 2023 by Paul Polman, within the hybrid global spirit of cooperations ! You are right, Paul ??
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1 年Best of Luck Europe .... ?? ??
Student at A P G SHILA UNIVERSITY
1 年THANKS FOR GIVING GREETINGS.....
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1 年Sophie Stephens