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Brussels has disregarded requests from businesses and organizations advocating for binding targets to prevent soil erosion and pollution. This is just the latest example of the EU’s hesitation to fully implement environmental laws in line with its green agenda.
In March, companies such as Nestlé and Unilever, along with NGOs like the WWF, called for ambitious legislation and specific targets for soil health, emphasizing the importance of meeting the bloc’s green goals. However, a draft of the proposed soil health law, obtained by the Financial Times, reveals that no binding targets will be set.
Instead, the European Commission plans to establish a framework for member states to identify areas with poor soils and regularly assess their condition based on indicators such as erosion levels, carbon content, and the presence of harmful chemicals.
Paul Polman, the former CEO of Unilever and an environmental advocate, described the rules as “a crucial piece of legislation,” but noted the lack of clear definitions for healthy soils. He expressed hopes for the development of more specific targets, although he acknowledged their need to be tailored to specific locations and crops.
This legislation is the EU’s first comprehensive effort to restore soils, as the commission estimates that 60 to 70 percent of the overall land in the bloc is unhealthy, leading to increased risks of droughts, wildfires, and food insecurity. The European Environment Agency has identified around 2.8 million sites in the EU with contaminated soils.
The document highlights that the amount of arable farming land per person in the EU has halved in the past 50 years, partly due to degradation.
The proposal will be presented next week as part of broader measures targeting the agri-food sector and may undergo changes before the final announcement.
Despite setting ambitious climate targets in 2021, the EU has faced challenges in establishing similar goals for biodiversity and environmental legislation.
Some member states, including Italy and Poland, as well as right-wing lawmakers, have argued for the relaxation of certain green rules to protect industries from pressures related to the war in Ukraine, inflation, and global competition from countries like China.
The EU’s flagship law aimed at restoring damaged ecosystems has been rejected by three committees in the European Parliament. This follows a heated campaign led by the conservative European People’s Party, which claims that the law is poorly drafted and will harm farmers.
In the draft proposal, the commission acknowledges that the annual cost of addressing contaminated soils is uncertain, potentially reaching nearly €2 billion just for identification and investigation. The overall cost of implementing soil restoration policies could range from €28 billion to €38 billion per year, but the economic benefits are expected to exceed that amount.
The commission has chosen not to comment on the draft.
While the EU has long had regulations on air and water quality, it has never regulated soils. Previous attempts by Brussels to introduce legislation for preventing soil contamination in 2010 faced strong opposition from member states such as Germany and France, who argued that the commission was exceeding its powers.
Lillian Busse, vice-president of the German Environment Agency, expressed disappointment in the current proposal, stating that more binding and ambitious measures were desired and that the proposal lacked basic monitoring requirements.
In the current version of the proposal, member states will be responsible for determining when and how soil sampling should be conducted.
Stientje van Veldhoven, vice-president of the NGO World Resources Institute, emphasized the importance of good soil health in reducing carbon emissions and called for ambitious implementation by EU countries.
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