EU Commission adopts comprehensive new Biodiversity Strategy

Source: NEW EUROPE

May 21 2020

The European Commission adopted on May 20 a comprehensive new Biodiversity Strategy to bring nature back into the lives of Europeans and a Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system. The strategy also aims to mitigate negative environmental effects of climate change, acknowledging the importance of renewable energies in achieving these goals.

According to the Commission, the two strategies are mutually reinforcing, bringing together nature, farmers, business and consumers to jointly work towards a competitive, sustainable future.

“In line with the European Green Deal, they propose ambitious EU actions and commitments to halt biodiversity loss in Europe and worldwide and transform our food systems into global standards for competitive sustainability, the protection of human and planetary health, as well as the livelihoods of all actors in the food value chain,” the Commission said in a statement.

The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated how vulnerable the increasing biodiversity loss makes us and how crucial a well-functioning food system is for our society, the Commission said, adding that two strategies put the citizen at the centre, by committing to increase the protection of land and sea, restoring degraded ecosystems and establishing the EU as a leader at the international stage both on the protection of biodiversity and on building a sustainable food chain.

EU nature restoration targets

The EU biodiversity strategy proposes legally binding EU nature restoration targets and requirements for national biodiversity restoration plans. According to the strategy, 30% of the EU’s landmass and 30% of EU’s oceans should be designated as protected areas. At least a third of which – areas of very high biodiversity value – should become strictly protected areas.

The strategy further aims to plant 3 billion trees in 10 years and to strictly monitor the EU’s last remaining primeval forests. An EU legal framework for the restoration of healthy ecosystems as well as an Action Plan to protect marine ecosystems and conserve fisheries resources are other important elements.

WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson stressed that the new EU Biodiversity Strategy recognises that transforming Europe’s energy system and developing a sound biodiversity strategy go together. “Climate change threatens the existence of eco-systems and the survival of species around the globe. Renewable energies are the best and most important instrument to mitigate climate change. An integrated biodiversity strategy requires an accelerated transition to renewable energies. And wind energy is central to that” Dickson said.

Investment in renewables

The EU Green Deal objective of European climate neutrality requires the installation of 1200 GW of wind energy by 2050 – up to 750 GW onshore wind and 450 GW offshore wind. In other words: Europe needs to increase its wind energy capacity by a factor of five.

“The new Biodiversity Strategy will extend the number of protected areas in Europe and within them the number of highly protected areas. It’s important this can happen without creating new restrictions on the expansion of wind energy which would risk undermining Europe’s ability to deliver the Green Deal. The Commission needs to continue to allow Member States to deploy wind farms in and around Natura 2000 sites – and give clear guidance on how to apply the Habitats and Birds Directives,” Dickson said.

He claimed that it is a myth that wind turbines are a significant danger to European bird populations. “Collisions are far lower than for other forms of infrastructure such as buildings or transport. The wind industry works closely with NGOs to mitigate impacts on birdlife – during site selection, permitting and continuous environmental impact assessments,” Dickson argued.

In Germany, which has 30.000 wind turbines, the National Bird Protection Report 2019 found that most bird species considered sensitive to wind energy are stable or increasing in population. These include large birds such as white-tailed eagles, eagle owls and black storks and birds living close to the ground, such as lapwings and partridges, WindEurope said, adding that the report shows how bird populations are more impacted by the intensification of agriculture and the declining quality of meadows and pastures and reduced food supply for birds – plus tourism impacts.

“The fact that most bird populations considered sensitive to wind energy are increasing, shows that the wind industry is doing a good job on nature conservation and restoration. There are many examples of win-win situations for wind energy and biodiversity. We want more of these,” Dickson said.

According to SolarPower Europe, the new Biodiversity Strategy makes it clear that the EU will prioritise and foster win-win solutions such as solar farms, which provide biodiversity-friendly soil cover – due to the fact that solar sites protect the ground from human impact, allowing for increased plant growth and wildlife health.

SolarPower Europe Policy Director Aurelie Beauvais argued that solar farms can have a positive impact on biodiversity. “A recent study from Germany showed that the land that solar farms are built on show greater diversity, provide refuge for different species, and maintain habitat structures. Climate protection and the protection of biodiversity can go hand in hand – solar can help promote and conserve biological diversity,” she said.

The new Farm to Fork Strategy points out that farm houses and barns are often perfect for placing solar panels, and that such investments should be prioritised in the future EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plans, SolarPower Europe said.

The Commission will set out to take concrete steps to accelerate market adoption of the technology and other energy efficient solutions in the agriculture and food sectors.

Miguel Herrero Cangas, policy advisor and coordinator of SolarPower Europe’s Agri-PV workstream, said solar has a huge potential to enable sustainable rural development in the EU. “The proposal to include the deployment of solar on farmhouses and barns as part of Member State’s CAP Strategic Plans is very positive. It is also important to consider that European companies are leading the world in Agri-PV (agricultural photovoltaic applications) technical solutions, which combine agricultural infrastructure and solar PV. With Agri-PV, solar can be deployed on greenhouses and over crops, providing protection from heat and hail, which reduces water consumption and the use of pesticides as well as land-use change,” he said, adding that Agri-PV can massively contribute towards a more sustainable food system and these options should be explored further.