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Restoring the Regulated: The EU’s Nature Restoration Law

Emma Lees & Ole W. Pedersen

Journal of Environmental Law2025https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqae032article
ABDC B
Weight
0.46

Abstract

To halt the decline of the natural environment, attention is increasingly directed towards nature restoration. A recent example of this is the EU’s Nature Restoration Law (NRL). This article presents an assessment of the NRL, arguing that the NRL is ambitious but that this ambition comes with a risk of it becoming a performative body of law. To test the NRL’s application in Member States, this article identifies four key ‘interpretive puzzles’: the relative priorities between the different obligations in the NRL; the correct approach to timescales and the concept of natural range; the ‘climate change causation defence’ and the interaction between the definition of restoration measures and pre-emptive measures. The article then articulates the central theme in relation to these four puzzles—the tension in the relationship between the mandated ‘plan-led’ approach, and a potential lack of Member State discretion in the contents of that plan.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqae032

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@article{emma2025,
  title        = {{Restoring the Regulated: The EU’s Nature Restoration Law}},
  author       = {Emma Lees & Ole W. Pedersen},
  journal      = {Journal of Environmental Law},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqae032},
}

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Evidence weight

0.46

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.37 × 0.4 = 0.15
M · momentum0.60 × 0.15 = 0.09
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.