European Parliament approves Nature Restoration Law on July 12

The European Parliament approved the Nature Restoration Law on July 12, targeting recovery of ecosystems where over 80 percent of European habitats are in poor condition. The legislation deepens the EU link between biodiversity and climate policy, a framing Indian companies and regulators may encounter in nature-related disclosure expectations.

The European Parliament approved the Nature Restoration Law on Wednesday, July 12, advancing the EU's commitment to biodiversity and climate action aligned with its biodiversity strategy for 2030. The law responds to over 80 percent of European habitats being in poor condition, targeting restoration of wetlands, rivers, forests, grasslands and marine environments. It builds on the EU LIFE programme, which has funded approximately 6,000 environmental and climate projects since 1992, with an additional 611 million euros allocated this year for nature conservation and clean-energy transition projects.

The law affects member states, land managers, farmers, forestry operators and conservation bodies obliged to restore degraded ecosystems, alongside communities benefiting from restored habitats. The LIFE CARPATHIA initiative in Romania exemplifies the impact, replanting nearly 900 hectares of mixed forest in the Fagaras Mountains over three years and enabling the return of the rare European Bison while fostering a green ecotourism economy. Businesses dependent on natural capital and ecosystem services across affected European regions are drawn into the restoration agenda.

Affected entities should monitor implementation timelines and funding opportunities, with interested parties directed to the LIFE 2023 Calls for Proposals website for project types, application dates and eligibility. The additional 611 million euros funds nature conservation, environmental protection, climate action and clean-energy transition projects this year. Indian companies and policymakers should watch how the EU's binding biodiversity-restoration model and the integration of nature into climate policy shape emerging nature-related disclosure and restoration expectations relevant to globally connected supply chains.

Key figure — Habitat condition: over 80 percent of European habitats in poor condition