Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

▸8 unchanged paragraphs

on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on nature restoration

(COM(2022)0304 – C90208/2022 – 2022/0195(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2022)0304),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90208/2022),

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the reasoned opinion submitted, within the framework of Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, by the Swedish Parliament, asserting that the draft legislative act does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity,

Changed– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of xxx25 January 2023,

Changed– having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of xxx09 February 2023,

– having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,

Changed– having regard to the opinionopinions of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development,Development and the Committee on FisheriesFisheries,

Changed– having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A90000/2023),(A9-0220/2023),

Change 1

Removed1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

Added1. Rejects the Commission proposal;

Change 2

Changed2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amendwithdraw its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 3

RemovedRecital 1: (1) Biodiversity and nature sustain life on Earth and deliver numerous essential ecosystem services. They are essential for our long-term survival, wellbeing, prosperity and security. Healthy ecosystems provide food, clean water, carbon sinks and protection against increasing natural disaster risks caused by climate change. Importantly, ecosystems also play a significant role in preventing the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases. Nature and biodiversity also have value intrinsically and are treasured for recreational, spiritual and aesthetic values, forming an important part of our cultural heritage. As a result, the current biodiversity loss and degradation of nature can have fundamental consequences for our society, economy and human health and well-being. Despite existing efforts and voluntary commitments, Europe continues to lose biodiversity at an alarming rate. Many previously agreed policy targets will not be achieved1a. The Union has so far failed to halt the loss of biodiversity, and it did not meet the voluntary target to restore at least 15% of degraded ecosystems by 2020 in line with Aichi Target 15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is therefore necessary to lay down rules at Union level on the restoration of ecosystems, habitat types and species to ensure the recovery to biodiverse and resilient nature across the Union territory and sea. Restoring ecosystems also contributes to the Union climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation ob…

Added24.5.2023

RemovedRecital 8: (8) In its resolution of 9 June 202149 , the European Parliament strongly welcomed the commitment to draw up a legislative proposal with binding nature restoration targets, and furthermore considered that in addition to an overall restoration target of at least 30 % of the Union’s land and seas , ecosystem-, habitat- and species-specific restoration targets should be included, covering forests, grasslands, wetlands, peatlands, pollinators, free-flowing rivers, coastal areas and marine ecosystems.

RemovedRecital 10: (10) The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets out a commitment to legally protect a minimum of 30 % of the land, including inland waters, and 30 % of the sea in the Union, of which at least one third are to be under strict protection, including all remaining primary and old-growth forests. The criteria and guidance for the designation of additional protected areas by Member States51 (the ‘Criteria and guidance’), developed by the Commission in cooperation with Member States and stakeholders, highlight that if the restored areas comply or are expected to comply, once restoration produces its full effect, with the criteria for protected areas, those restored areas should also contribute towards the Union targets on protected areas. The Criteria and guidance also highlight that protected areas can provide an important contribution to the restoration targets in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, by creating the conditions for restoration efforts to be successful. This is particularly the case for areas which can recover naturally by stopping or limiting the pressures from human activities. Placing such areas, including in the marine environment, under strict protection, will, in some cases, be sufficient to lead to the recovery of the natural values they host. Moreover, it is emphasised in the Criteria and guidance that all Member States are expected to contribute towards reaching the Union targets on protected areas set out in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, to an e…

RemovedRecital 13: (13) It is appropriate to set an overarching objective for ecosystem restoration for 2030 in order to steer the Union’s actions on restoration and to facilitate the achievement of ecosystems specific targets. The restoration of ecosystems will foster economic and societal transformation, the creation of high-quality jobs and sustainable growth. Biodiverse ecosystems such as wetland, peatland, freshwater, forest as well as agricultural, sparsely vegetated, marine, coastal and urban ecosystems deliver, if in good condition, a range of essential ecosystem services, and the benefits of restoring degraded ecosystems to good condition in all land and sea areas far outweigh the costs of restoration. Those services contribute to a broad range of socio-economic benefits, depending on the economic, social, cultural, regional and local characteristics.

RemovedRecital 14: (14) The United Nations Statistical Commission adopted the System of Environmental Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA)54 at its 52nd session in March 2021. SEEA EA constitutes an integrated and comprehensive statistical framework for organising data about habitats and landscapes, measuring the extent, condition and services of ecosystems, tracking changes in ecosystem assets, and linking this information to economic and other human activity. The proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 as regards introducing new environmental economic accounts modules53a introduces three new environmental account modules, including a module for ecosystem accounts. Ecosystem accounts present data on the extent and condition of ecosystem assets and the services they provide to society and the economy. / 53a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 as regards introducing new environmental economic accounts modules (COM(2022)329).

RemovedRecital 15: (15) Securing biodiverse ecosystems and tackling climate change are intrinsically linked. Nature and nature-based solutions and ecosystems-based approaches including natural carbon stocks and sinks, are fundamental for fighting the climate crisis. At the same time, the climate crisis is already a driver of terrestrial and marine ecosystem change, and the Union must prepare for the increasing intensity, frequency and pervasiveness of its effects. The Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)55 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C pointed out that some impacts may be long-lasting or irreversible. The Sixth IPCC Assessment Report56 states that restoring ecosystems will be fundamental in helping to combat climate change and also in reducing risks to food security. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in its 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services57 considered climate change a key driver of change in nature, and it expected its impacts to increase over the coming decades, in some cases surpassing the impact of other drivers of ecosystem change such as changed land and sea use.

RemovedRecital 18: (18) Union climate policy is being revised in order to follow the pathway proposed in Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 to reduce net emissions by at least 55 % by 2030 compared to 1990. In particular, the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2018/841 and (EU) 2018/199961 aims to strengthen the contribution of the land sector to the overall climate ambition for 2030 and aligns the objectives as regards accounting of emissions and removals from the land use, land use change and forestry (‘LULUCF’) sector with related policy initiatives on biodiversity. That proposal emphasises the need for the protection and enhancement of nature-based carbon removals, for the improvement of the resilience of ecosystems to climate change, for the restoration of degraded land and ecosystems, and for rewetting peatlands. It further aims to improve the monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land subject to protection and restoration. In this context, it is important that ecosystems in all land categories, including forests, grasslands, croplands and wetlands, are in good condition in order to be able to effectively capture and store carbon.

RemovedRecital 22: (22) Soils are an integral part of terrestrial ecosystems. The Commission’s 2021 Communication ‘EU Soil Strategy for 2030’64 outlines the need to restore degraded soils and enhance soil biodiversity. The Commission has also confirmed its commitment to prepare a legislative proposal for a Soil Health Law. At international level, the Union and its Member States have committed to achieving land degradation neutrality by 2030 in the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development64a and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) 2018-2030 strategic framework64b. / 64a The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 25September2015 by Heads of State and Government at a special United Nations summit / 64bUNCCD 2018-2030 strategic framework https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/files/inline-files/ICCD_COP%2813%29_L.18-1716078E_0.pdf

RemovedRecital 24: (24) A framework and guidance67 already exist to determine good condition of habitat types protected under Directive 92/43/EEC and to determine sufficient quality and quantity of the habitats of species falling within the scope of that Directive. Restoration targets for those habitat types and habitats of species can be set based on that framework and guidance. However, such restoration will not be enough to reverse biodiversity loss and recover all ecosystems. Therefore, additional obligations should be established based on specific indicators in order to enhance biodiversity at the scale of wider ecosystems. Moreover, once common methods for assessing the good condition of the Union’s ecosystems are developed, additional targets based on these common methods may be established by way of amendment to this Regulation.

RemovedRecital 25: (25) Building on Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC and in order to support the achievement of the objectives set out in those Directives, Member States should put in place restoration measures, complementary to measures adopted under Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC, to ensure the recovery of protected habitats and species, including wild birds, across Union areas, also in areas that fall outside Natura 2000.

RemovedRecital 33: (33) It is important to ensure a gradual increase of the areas covered by habitat types that fall within the scope of Directive 92/43/EEC that are in good condition across the territory of Member States and of the Union as a whole, until the favourable reference area for each habitat type is reached and 100 % at Member State level of that area is in good condition, so as to allow those habitat types in the Union to achieve favourable conservation status.

RemovedThe 90% is the minimum to reach good condition, according to the document ‘Reporting under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive: Explanatory notes and guidelines for the period 2013-2018’. A higher target of 100% can therefore be set up.

RemovedRecital 35: (35) It is important that the areas covered by habitat types falling within the scope of this Regulation do not deteriorate as compared to the current situation, considering the current restoration needs and the necessity not to further increase the restoration needs in the future. It is, however, appropriate to consider the possibility of force majeure causing natural disasters, which may result in the deterioration of areas covered by those habitat types, as well as unavoidable habitat transformations which are directly caused by scientifically proven impacts of climate change, or as a result of a plan or project of overriding public interest, for which no less damaging alternative solutions are available, to be determined on a case by case basis, outside Natura 2000 sites, or of a plan or project authorised in accordance with Article 6(4) of Directive 92/43/EEC for Natura 2000 sites.

RemovedRecital 38: (38) Where the protection of coastal and marine habitats requires that fishing or aquaculture activities are regulated, the common fisheries policy applies. Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council68 provides, in particular, that the common fisheries policy is to implement the ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management so as to ensure that negative impacts of fishing activities on the marine ecosystem are minimised. That Regulation also provides that that policy is to endeavour to ensure that aquaculture and fisheries activities avoid the degradation of the marine environment.

RemovedRecital 39: (39) In order to achieve the objective of continuous, long-term and sustained recovery of biodiverse and resilient nature, Member States should make full use of the possibilities provided under the common fisheries policy. Within the scope of the exclusive competence of the Union with regard to conservation of marine biological resources, Member States have the possibility to take non-discriminatory measures for the conservation and management of fish stocks and the maintenance or improvement of the conservation status of marine ecosystems within the limit of 12 nautical miles. In addition, Member States that have a direct management interest have the possibility to agree to submit joint recommendations for conservation measures necessary for compliance with obligations under Union law on the environment. Such measures will be assessed and adopted according to the rules and procedures provided for under the common fisheries policy and this Regulation.

RemovedAccording to the Court of Auditors' "Special Report 26/2020: Marine environment: EU protection is wide but not deep", the joint recommendation procedure of Article 11 of the CFP has been poorly implemented and largely failed to meet its objectives. In this framework, some safeguards are added when coming to the restoration measures under this regulation.

RemovedRecital 39 a (new): (39a) Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 provides that the common fisheries policy is to be coherent with the Union environmental legislation, in particular with the objective of achieving a good environmental status in the marine environment by 2020 as set out in Article 1(1) of Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, as well as with other Union policies.

RemovedRecital 40: (40) The distribution range of marine ecosystems extends beyond the waters under the sovereignty of any one Member State. Directive 92/43/EEC provides for shared responsibility of Member States for the implementation of that Directive. Moreover, Article 6 of Directive 2008/56/EC requires Member States to cooperate bilaterally and within regional and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms, including through regional sea conventions69 , as well as, where fisheries measures are concerned, in the context of the regional groups established under the common fisheries policy.

RemovedRecital 42: (42) To support the restoration and non-deterioration of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine habitats, Member States should ensure the continuous, long-term and sustained effects of restoration measures, including by designating, where appropriate, additional areas as ‘protected areas’ or ‘strictly protected areas’, implementing other effective area-based conservation measures, and promoting private land conservation measures. Given their priceless value for climate and environment, when restoration measures apply to primary and old-growth forests, Member States should strictly protect them.

RemovedRecital 43: (43) Urban ecosystems represent around 22 % of the land surface of the Union, and constitute the area in which a majority of the citizens of the Union live. Urban green spaces include urban forests, parks and gardens, urban farms, tree-lined streets, urban meadows and urban hedges, and vegetated rooftops and walls, and provide important habitats for biodiversity, in particular plants, birds and insects, including pollinators. They also provide vital ecosystem services, such as provisioning services (e.g. the provision of food, fibre and fuel by way of gardens, allotments and community orchards and woodlands), regulating services (e.g. natural disaster risk reduction and control, climate change mitigation and adaptation, cooling, water and air filtration and flood prevention), cultural services (e.g. benefits for recreation, tourism, urban landscape and visual amenity) and resulting impacts on physical and mental health and wellbeing.

RemovedVegetated rooftops and walls, often referred to as “green roofs” and “green walls”, are recognized as part of the urban green space, including in EU policies and the Urban Greening Plan draft guidance developed by the Commission. Green roofs and walls can greatly contribute to restoring urban biodiversity by providing a habitat for pollinators, insects and birds in cities, towns and suburbs, and are key to provide ecosystem services, therefore they should be integrated in the recital. The further additions seek to complete the text with services as detailed in the impact assessment.

RemovedRecital 45: (45) The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 requires greater efforts to restore freshwater ecosystems and the natural functions of rivers. The restoration of freshwater ecosystems should include efforts to restore the natural longitudinal, lateral, vertical and temporal connectivity of rivers as well as their riparian areas and floodplains, including through the removal of barriers with a view to supporting the achievement of favourable conservation status for rivers, lakes and alluvial habitats and species living in those habitats protected by Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC, and the achievement of one of the key objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, namely, the restoration of at least 25 000 km of free-flowing rivers. When removing barriers, Member States should primarily address obsolete barriers, which are those that are no longer needed for renewable energy generation, inland navigation, water supply or other uses, and barriers with a high ecological impact.

RemovedAdding vertical and temporal connectivity will increase the flexibility for Member States to choose the barriers and will cover all dimensions of connectivity. Regarding "high ecological", this is a term used in the framework of the Water Framework Directive.

RemovedRecital 45 a (new): (45a) The restoration of smaller water units of ecological importance is essential for ecosystem connectivity, especially lateral connectivity, and can be an effective way to achieve other targets. In view of the aim of the Commission to set targets for small water units and for the Member States to implement restoration actions after 2030, an exercise of mapping out these units by 2030 should be undertaken. Data is already available through the Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (Water Framework Directive)1a, Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC and Copernicus, and can be complemented by additional data from Member States. / 1a Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1).

RemovedThe smaller water units are covered by the impact assessment and are very important in terms of connectivity.

RemovedRecital 48: (48) The proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the sustainable use of plant protection products and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/211575a aims to regulate one of the drivers of pollinator decline by prohibiting the use of pesticides in ecologically sensitive areas, many of which are covered by this Regulation, for example areas sustaining pollinator species which the European Red Lists76 classify as being threatened with extinction. / 75a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the sustainable use of plant protection products and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 (COM(2022)305)

RemovedRecital 49: (49) Sustainable, resilient and biodiverse agricultural ecosystems are needed to provide safe, sustainable, nutritious and affordable food. Biodiversity-rich agricultural ecosystems also increase agriculture’s resilience to climate change and environmental risks, while ensuring food safety and security and creating new jobs in rural areas, in particular jobs linked to organic farming as well as rural tourism and recreation. Therefore, the Union needs to improve the biodiversity in its agricultural lands, through a variety of existing practices beneficial to or compatible with the biodiversity enhancement, including extensive agriculture. Extensive agriculture is vital for the maintenance of many species and habitats in biodiversity rich areas. There are many extensive agricultural practices when conducted in a biodiversity-friendly manner which can have multiple and significant benefits on the protection of biodiversity, ecosystem services and landscape features such as organic farming, agro-ecology, agroforestry such as dehesa agroforestry systems, low intensity management of permanent grassland, and under some conditions, precision farming.

RemovedRecital 50: (50) Restoration measures need to be put in place to enhance the biodiversity of agricultural ecosystems across the Union, including in the areas not covered by habitat types that fall within the scope of Directive 92/43/EEC. Until a common method for assessing the condition of agricultural ecosystems is developed and until, on this basis, additional restoration targets for agricultural ecosystems are potentially proposed, it is appropriate to set a general obligation to improve biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems and measure the fulfilment of that obligation on the basis of existing indicators.

RemovedRecital 52: (52) High-diversity landscape features on agricultural land, including buffer strips, rotational or non-rotational fallow land, hedgerows, individual or groups of trees, tree rows, field margins, patches, ditches, streams, small wetlands, terraces, cairns, stonewalls, small ponds and cultural features, provide space for wild plants and animals, including pollinators, enhance carbon sequestration, prevent soil erosion and depletion, filter air and water, support climate change mitigation and adaptation and agricultural productivity of pollination-dependent crops. Productive trees that are part of arable land agroforestry systems and productive elements in non-productive hedges can also be considerd as high biodiversity landscape features provided that they do not receive fertilizers or pesticide treatment and if harvest takes place only at moments where it would not compromise high biodiversity levels. Therefore, a requirement to ensure an increasing trend for high-diversity landscape features on agricultural land should be set out. Such a requirement would enable the Union to achieve one of the other key commitments of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, namely, to cover at least 10 % of agricultural area with high-diversity landscape features. Increasing trends should also be achieved for other existing indicators, such as the grassland butterfly index and the stock of organic carbon in cropland mineral soils.

RemovedRecital 55: (55) In order to reap the full biodiversity benefits, restoration and rewetting of areas of drained peatland should extend beyond the areas of wetlands habitat types listed in Annex I of Directive 92/43/EEC that are to be restored and re-established. Data about the extent of organic soils as well as their greenhouse gas emissions and removals are monitored and made available by LULUCF sector reporting in national greenhouse gas inventories by Member States, submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Restored and rewetted peatlands can continue to be used productively in alternative ways. For example, paludiculture, the practice of farming on wet peatlands, can include cultivation of various types of reeds, certain forms of timber, blueberry and cranberry cultivation, sphagnum farming, and grazing with water buffaloes. Such practices should be based on the principles of sustainable management and aimed at enhancing biodiversity so that they can have a high value both financially and ecologically. Paludiculture can also be beneficial to several species which are endangered in the Union and can also facilitate the connectivity of wetland areas and of associated species populations in the Union. Funding for measures to restore and rewet drained peatlands and to compensate possible losses of income can come from a wide range of sources, including expenditure under the Union budget and Union financing programmes.

RemovedRecital 56: (56) The new EU Forest Strategy for 203081 outlined the need to restore forest biodiversity. Forests and other wooded land cover over 43,5 % of the EU’s land space. Forest ecosystems that host rich biodiversity are vulnerable to climate change but are also a natural ally in adapting to and fighting climate change and climate-related risks, including through their carbon-stock and carbon-sink functions, and provide many other vital ecosystem services and benefits, such as the provision of timber and wood, food and other non-wood products, climate regulation, soil stabilisation and erosion control and the purification of air and water. Forests have also proven positive effects on physical and mental health and well-being.

RemovedRecital 57: (57) Restoration measures need to be put in place to enhance the biodiversity of forest ecosystems across the Union, including in the areas not covered by habitat types falling within the scope of Directive 92/43/EEC. Until a common method for assessing the condition of forest ecosystems is developed and until, on this basis, additional restoration targets for forest ecosystems are potentially proposed, it is appropriate to set a general obligation to improve biodiversity, the natural processes, the ecological integrity and the resilience of forest ecosystems and measure the fulfilment of that obligation on the basis of existing indicators, such as standing and lying deadwood, the share of forests with uneven-aged structure, forest connectivity, the common forest bird index82, the stock of organic carbon and the native tree species composition. Given the ever increasing risk of forest fires due to climate change, Member States should ensure that the measures put in place to achieve the objectives of increasing deadwood, the share of forests with uneven-aged structure and forests connectivity take into account the risk of forest fires and include relevant provisions in their national disaster prevention strategies.

RemovedReferring to forest ecosystems, it is important to highlight that it is not only about biodiversity but also their ecological integrity and, with it, their performance for climate change mitigation and adaptation, fire prevention, and other ecosystem services that good-quality forests provide. The rest of the amendment is linked to the amendment to Article 10 and to Annex VI.

RemovedRecital 57 a (new): (57a) The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets outs the objective to plant at least three billion additional trees by 2030 in full respect of ecological principles. This objective should be fully integrated in this Regulation. That initiative will act against the ongoing trend of a declining net increase of forest areas in the Union and will contribute to some of the restoration targets set out under this Regulation. Over time, it will also contribute to increasing forest cover in the Union and, with that, the land carbon sink and stock. The new EU Forest Strategy for 2030 includes a roadmap for the implementation of this objective, based on the overall principle of planting and growing the right tree in the right place and for the right purpose.

RemovedRecital 59: (59) To ensure synergies between the different measures that have been, and are to be put in place to protect, conserve and restore nature in the Union, Member States should take into account, when preparing their national restoration plans: the conservation measures established for Natura 2000 sites and the prioritised action frameworks prepared in accordance with Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC; the protection measures of the species of birds adopted in accordance with Directive 2009/147/EC; measures for achieving good ecological and chemical status of water bodies included in river basin management plans prepared in accordance with Directive 2000/60/EC; marine strategies for achieving good environmental status for all Union marine regions prepared in accordance with Directive 2008/56/EC; national air pollution control programmes prepared under Directive (EU) 2016/2284; national biodiversity strategies and action plans developed in accordance with Article 6 of the Convention on Biological Diversity; marine spatial plans adopted under Directive 2014/89/EU82a; flood risk management plans in line with Directive 2007/60/EC82b; as well as conservation measures adopted in accordance with Regulation 1380/2013 and technical measures adopted in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council 83. / 82a Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning (…

RemovedRecital 61: (61) Considering the importance of addressing consistently the dual challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change, the deployment of renewable energy should take into account the restoration of biodiversity and vice versa. The Communication on REPowerEU: Joint European Action for more affordable, secure and sustainable energy87 states that Member States should swiftly map, assess and ensure suitable land and sea areas that are available for renewable energy projects, commensurate with their national energy and climate plans, the contributions towards the revised 2030 renewable energy target and other factors such as the availability of resources, grid infrastructure and the targets of the EU Biodiversity Strategy. The Commission proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency88 and the Commission recommendation on accelerating permitting for renewable energy projects and facilitating Power Purchase Agreements89, both adopted on 18 May 2022, also provide for the identification of renewables go-to areas. Those are specific locations, whether on land or sea, particularly suitable for the installation of plants for the production of energy from renewable sources, other than biomass combustion plants, where the deployment of a specific type of renewable e…

RemovedRecital 65: (65) The European Environment Agency (the ‘EEA’) should support Member States in preparing the national restoration plans, as well as in monitoring progress towards meeting the restoration targets and obligations. The Commission should assess whether the national restoration plans are adequate for achieving those targets and obligations and Member States should take due account of the recommendations of the Commission.

RemovedRecital 66: (66) The Commission’s State of Nature Report from 2020 has shown that a substantial share of the information reported by Member States in accordance with Article 17 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC90 and Article 12 of Directive 2009/147/EC, in particular on the conservation status and trends of the habitats and species they protect, comes from partial surveys or is based only on expert judgment. That Report also showed that the status of several habitat types and species protected under Directive 92/43/EEC is still unknown. Filling in those knowledge gaps and investing in monitoring and surveillance are necessary in order to underpin robust and science-based national restoration plans. In order to increase the timeliness, effectiveness and coherence of various monitoring methods, the monitoring and surveillance should make best possible use of the results of Union-funded research and innovation projects, new technologies, such as in-situ monitoring and remote sensing using space data and services delivered under the Union’s Space programme (EGNOS/Galileo and Copernicus). Other publicly or privately available sources may be also used, where appropriate. The EU missions ‘Restore Our Ocean and Waters’, ‘Adaptation to Climate Change’, and ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ will support the implementation of the restoration targets91 .

RemovedRecital 67: (67) In order to monitor the progress in implementing the national restoration plans, the restoration measures put in place, the areas subject to restoration measures, and the data on the inventory of barriers to river continuity, a system should be introduced requiring Member States to set up, keep up-to-date and make accessible relevant data on results from such monitoring. The electronic reporting of data to the Commission should make use of EEA’s Reportnet system and should aim to keep the administrative burden on all entities as limited as possible. To ensure an appropriate infrastructure for public access, reporting and data-sharing between public authorities, Member States should, where relevant, base the data specifications on those referred to in Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council92 , Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council93 and Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council94 . For monitoring the progress of the planting of three billion additional trees, the ‘Roadmap for planting at least 3 billion additional trees in the EU by 2030, in full respect of ecological principles’ accompanying EU Forest Strategy for 2030 should be used.

RemovedRecital 69: (69) The Commission should report on the progress made by Member States towards meeting the restoration targets and obligations of this Regulation on the basis of reporting conducted by Member States and of Union-wide progress reports drawn up by the EEA as well as other analysis and reports made available by Member States in relevant policy areas such as nature, marine and water policy.

RemovedRecital 70: (70) To ensure the achievement of the targets and obligations set out in this Regulation, it is of utmost importance that adequate private and public investments are made in restoration. For this, Member States should integrate expenditure for biodiversity objectives, including in relation to opportunity and transition costs resulting from the implementation of the national restoration plans, in their national budgets and reflect how Union funding is used. Regarding the Union funding, expenditure under the Union budget and Union financing programmes, such as the Programme for the Environment and Climate Action (LIFE)96 , the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF)97 , the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)98 , the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund99 and the Just Transition Fund100 , as well as the Union framework programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe101 , contributes to biodiversity objectives with the ambition to dedicate 7,5 % in 2024, and 10 % in 2026 and in 2027 of annual spending under the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework102 to biodiversity objectives. The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)103 is a further source of funding for the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems. With reference to the LIFE Programme, special attention should be given to the appropriate use of the Strategic Nature Projects (SNaPs) as a s…