By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union’s first law to improve soil heath will not include any binding targets to curb pollution or the degradation of soils, a draft showed, rebuffing calls from some companies for more ambitious rules.
The legal proposal, which the European Commission is due to publish on July 5, coincides with a political backlash against new environmental laws and an attempt by the EU Parliament’s biggest lawmaker group to throw out a law to restore damaged natural habitats.
A draft of the soil law, seen by Reuters and which could still change before it is published, included no binding targets to prevent degradation that is driven by factors including intensive farming and drought.
Rather, the EU law would require countries to monitor the health of their soils by tracking criteria, including erosion or excessive levels of nutrients such as phosphorus from fertiliser use. They would also need to manage the risks posed by soils contaminated with health-harming chemicals.
Companies including Unilever, Nestle and Danone have urged Brussels to go further. In a letter to the Commission in March, co-signed by academics and dozens of campaign groups, the companies urged Brussels to propose “ambitious and binding targets on achieving soil health”.
The Commission declined to comment on the draft.
“The EU needs to go much further, much faster if it is serious about tackling the problem of deteriorating soil health,” said Stefania Avanzini, director of One Planet Business for Biodiversity, a coalition whose members include the three aforementioned companies.
Avanzini welcomed the proposed criteria to track soil health more closely, but said more was needed to support farming practices that can boost soil health – such as having “cover crops” planted in fields all year to prevent erosion.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Susan Fenton and Barbara Lewis)
