ABSTRACT
The Biodiversity Strategy 2030 is a key pillar of the European Green Deal (EGD) and of the European Union’s (EU) leadership in international action, as its main objective is to restore Europe’s biodiversity by 2030 for the benefit of people, the climate and the planet. To achieve this objective, several actions are foreseen, including addressing the global biodiversity challenge to support the global biodiversity framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity. However, the question then arises as to how the Strategy will affect the EU’s external action, as the total footprint of EU consumption on the planet’s ecosystems is currently the largest after China. This is relevant considering that the Strategy as such does not question the structural and systemic causes of biodiversity loss, nor does it question the import into the European market of products that have contributed to the destruction of nature, whether legally or illegally, or to the violation of human rights. This chapter assesses the commitment of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to lead by example in the conservation of the environment and the sustainable use of natural resources, paying particular attention to the main sectors of the strategy, which have a strong external impact: international ocean governance, trade policy and international cooperation.
