How the Nature Restoration Law affects your business
What is the Nature Restoration Law?
Biodiversity is in crisis, and our society is dependent on biodiversity and nature. To respond to the biodiversity crisis, the EU passed the Nature Restoration Law in June 2024. This law sets a target to protect at least 20% of land and sea areas of the EU by 2030, including the rarest & most impacted ecosystems.
Who does the Nature Restoration Law apply to?
Technically, this law directly applies to member states (e.g. countries like Ireland or France) of the EU. That doesn’t mean it won’t translate into impacts for businesses, but these will depend on how each member state act towards the target. This will likely result in local or regional land use regulation - especially important if in construction, agriculture, or any other business using large areas of land.
How does the Nature Restoration Law impact small & medium sized businesses?
The new law will require each member state to prepare “National Restoration Plans.” These plans will designate certain areas as priorities for restoration, such as planting native trees for reforestation. Other areas will be specified for specific types of development, such as building wind farms or other renewable energy. The way that different areas of land are specified in these National Restoration Plans will influence their value and development potential significantly.
Practically these plans may be implemented in a variety of ways. Individual countries may take:
Market-based approach that allows “trading” impacts. For example, if a small area of forest is removed to build a facility, an equivalent patch of forest must be planted somewhere else, possibly with an additional area to ensure “net-positive” impacts.
Prescriptive approaches such as zoning laws that restrict the types of development or activities possible on different types of land. For example, you may own an area of forest and wish to construct a facility. However, if zoning laws do not allow for that forest area to be developed, then you must buy a different area of land for construction.
Practically, previously developed or degraded land such as contaminated “brownfield” sites will likely remain easy to develop. However, lands that have high biodiversity or value to nature such as older forests will likely become much more expensive to develop.
For businesses holding and developing land, the Nature Restoration Law will likely increase costs. However, there are also opportunities. For example, providing restoration services or selling land to the government and large companies that must offset their own impacts.
Ready for the next step?
Need to ensure your business is aligned with the latest environmental regulations? Contact us for a consultation on how the Nature Restoration Law and the other new laws of the EU Green Deal impact your operations and discover opportunities for growth and sustainability.
