Book Description

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets out a truly ambitious and far-reaching programme of measures to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in the EU and across the globe. The challenge ahead is daunting and our ambition high, but it is actually not a matter of choice: halting biodiversity loss is a necessity for a stable future on this planet, and a socioeconomic imperative to deliver the European Green Deal. In preparing the EU Biodiversity Strategy we drew on a vast amount of scientific evidence on biodiversity loss, especially the landmark 2019 IPBES report, and evidence is growing by the day. The 2020 'State of Nature in the EU' report found that 81% of EU protected habitats and 63% of EU protected species are in "poor" or "bad" conservation status. Overall, Europe's protected habitats and species continue to decline at an alarming rate because the multiple pressures they face are simply too great to enable their recovery. Without decisive action, this continued loss will have massive economic repercussions. The latest studies confirm that over half of global GDP is dependent on high-functioning biodiversity and ecosystem services and that globally, one fifth of countries are at risk of their ecosystems collapsing, compromising food security, clean water and air, and flood protection. This is why the EU Biodiversity Strategy is now a central element of both the EU Green Deal and the EU Recovery Plan. Its ambitious targets for nature protection and restoration should lead to a better balance between nature and economic activities, contributing to a transformational change that will filter through to all parts of society, ensuring the health and prosperity of people and nature. We can make this happen if we take a whole-society approach, with action from all stakeholders across all sectors and at all levels. We are working to bring everyone on board to deliver the Biodiversity Strategy - land owners and land users, such as farmers, foresters, fishers; businesses and consumers; civil society organisations, and citizens across the EU. To this end, one important part of the Strategy focuses on strengthening the EU's biodiversity governance framework to make it as transparent and participatory as possible. Enabling also needs funding: we are using all tools at our disposal to unlock, as a minimum, EUR 20 billion/year for biodiversity through various sources, including all EU funds, national and private funding, supported by tools such as the Taxonomy, improved biodiversity tracking for EU funding, Invest EU, and much more besides. With the Biodiversity Strategy, the EU is leading the way. But the biodiversity crisis is a global crisis. That is why we will negotiate an ambitious global framework to protect biodiversity across the globe at the next Conference of Parties of the UN Biodiversity Convention in China. Working together with the Member States and the EU External Action Service, we will use the full diplomatic weight of the EU to lead the way for global action. We owe it to nature, to people and to future generations.