Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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118. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will provide an update on the agenda highlights of the Environment Council to be held in Brussels on 20 December 2022. [62502/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The substantive focus of the upcoming Environment Council is a policy debate on the EU Regulation on Nature Restoration.

The proposal aims to repair European habitats that are in poor condition, and to bring back nature to all ecosystems, from forest and agricultural land to marine, freshwater and urban ecosystems. Under this proposal, legally binding targets for nature restoration in different ecosystems will apply, complementing existing laws. The aim is to cover at least 20% of the EU's land and sea areas by 2030 with nature restoration measures, and eventually extend these to all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.

The remaining agenda item is ‘AOB’ which will cover a multitude of legislative proposals and reports on recent international meetings, including COP27.

Minister Noonan will attend the Council in my absence and I look forward to hearing his report from the discussions.