EU faces cliffhanger vote on major bill protecting nature and fighting climate change

By RAF CASERT
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Protesters and legislators are converging on the European Union parliament as the bloc prepares a cliffhanger vote on protecting its threatened nature and shielding it from disruptive environmental change. It is a key test of the EU’s global climate credentials. Climate activist Greta Thunberg spurred on a few hundred demonstrators who demanded that the EU pushes through a bill to beef up the restoration of nature in the 27-nation bloc. A counterdemonstration of farmers demanded a slower approach that would lessen the impact on their income. Parliamentarians in Strasbourg, France, were putting in last-minute efforts to sway Wednesday’s vote, which could push a vital part of the EU’s biodiversity protection plans off the table.