Theme:
2. Net Zero Archaeologies – Sustainability in the Past, Present and Future
Session format:
Round table (without formal abstracts, only list of confirmed discussants / session co-organisers to be provided)
Title:
EAA and EAC Working Group on Farming, Forestry and Rural Land Management Roundtable
Content:
In October 2020 the European Commission proposed a new legal framework on the restoration of ecosystems and in June 2022 tabled a draft regulation. The regulation envisages legally binding targets, including nature restoration for 20% of EU land by 2030. Member States will have to submit plans within two years on how they will meet the targets and conduct regular monitoring and reporting.
In March 2022 the European Council decided to cut the EU’s dependency on Russian energy imports. In May 2022 the Commission published the REPowerEU plan. The plan aims to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels, fast forward the clean transition and to seek to create a resilient energy system. Proposals include increasing the 2030 target for renewables from 40% to 45%, an EU Solar Strategy to double solar photovoltaic capacity by 2025, and a Recommendation to speed up permitting systems. Most critical is an amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive to recognise renewable energy as IROPI, to require Member States to assess via the SEA process and designate ‘go-to' areas, and to put in place simplified permitting processes for projects in those areas.
The new Nature Restoration Regulation and the amendment to Renewable Energy Directive are making their way through the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. It is likely they will be subject to further negotiation in 2023 but could become law by the middle of the year.
In this Roundtable the Working Group will share experiences and perspectives on both proposals and try to map out the implications for the protection of archaeological sites, historic landscapes, and maritime archaeology areas, as well as State Archaeological Services, from new permitted land uses in ‘go to’ areas, restorative actions, and proposed derogations from existing EU environmental assessment requirements.
Keywords:
EU, Nature Restoration, Renewables, REPowerEU, Environmental Assessment
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
EAA and EAC Working Group on Farming, Forestry and Rural Land Management
Main organiser:
Emmet Byrnes (Ireland) 1
Co-organisers:
Karl Cordemans (Belgium) 2
Affiliations:
1. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
2. Flemish Land Agency
THIS SESSION CAN NOT BE SELECTED AT THIS MOMENT