European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Commissioner Roswall's opening address at Green Week 2026 Brussels, 3 June 2026 Ladies and gentlemen, partners, friends, Welcome to Green Week. I am delighted to open this flagship conference, and to kickstart two days of discussion – not just about the environment, but about the kind of economy and society we want to build. This year, Green Week focuses on a simp...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Commissioner Roswall's opening address at Green Week 2026 Brussels, 3 June 2026 Ladies and gentlemen, partners, friends, Welcome to Green Week. I am delighted to open this flagship conference, and to kickstart two days of discussion – not just about the environment, but about the kind of economy and society we want to build. This year, Green Week focuses on a simple, but powerful truth: Healthy ecosystems are the foundation of resilient, competitive economies. And they are essential to our security. They clean our water and air, stabilise our soils, pollinate our crops, define our climate, and protect our coastlines. So, today and tomorrow, we are putting a spotlight on nature as the engine of human progress. And I am inspired to see such a range of expertise and experience here today – environmentalists and activists, industry leaders, innovators and investors, scientists and civil society, farmers and foresters. This is exactly the type of broad coalition that we need to deliver concrete change. When we collaborate to protect nature, we all thrive – our economies, industries, and societies. Because they are closely connected. The wetlands that filter our water feed the rivers that power our businesses. The grasslands that support pollinators produce our food. And the forests that clean our air, regulate our soils and store our carbon, give us timber, medicine and flood protection. It reminds me of an old story that generations of Swedes have grown up reading. A little boy, Nils Holgersson, rides across the country on the back of a goose – along the rugged coastline of Kullaberg, over the beech forests of Skåne, and around the snow-covered peaks of Lapland. What started as a geography book for children, has become a celebration of our natural world – and it highlights how our different ecosystems and environments are bound together. Sometimes, I think, it would be good if we could all climb on the back of that goose, so we could look down at everything our planet has to offer – and to remember what's at stake. David Attenborough, who just turned 100 and who has been connecting people with nature for seven decades, put it simply when he said that the natural world is the most precious thing we have, and we need to defend it. When we invest in ecosystems, we are not being generous to nature. We are investing in our future. And we have the evidence to prove it. Along the Rhine in Germany and the Netherlands, decades of rewilding floodplains, restoring wetlands and reconnecting rivers to their natural channels have reduced flood risk and created new economic opportunities. What was once drained and channelled in the name of productivity is being restored in the name of resilience. Let me share another example from across the Atlantic. In the 1990s, New York City faced a stark choice. Its drinking water was at risk, and the conventional answer was a filtration plant costing up to eight billion dollars. Instead, for one and a half billion dollars, New York restored 3,000 hectares of wetlands in the Catskill Mountains – the natural systems that had always filtered its water. The investment in nature worked – and it is still working. Today, that watershed continues to provide clean water to nine million New Yorkers. And it delivered things a filtration plant never could: a living watershed, a thriving ecosystem, reduced flood risk, a carbon store, and a recreational landscape for millions of people. We have other case studies. Peatland restoration in Finland has reduced wildfire risks. In Latvia, the restoration of grasslands is benefitting farmers. And in Costa Rica, financial incentives promoted forest conservation and helped to build a thriving tourism sector. These are not just environmental success stories. When countries and communities invest in nature, they are really investing in resilience. In long-term savings. And in long-lasting efficiency. The risks and costs of inaction are enormous. In the EU, extreme heatwaves, severe droughts, and destructive floods cost us a staggering 43 billion euros last summer — expected to soar to 129 billion euros by 2029. On the other hand, the results prove that restoration pays. Our own impact assessment for the Nature Restoration Law found that every euro invested in restoring Europe's ecosystems generates between eight and thirty-eight euros in return. Multiple studies have highlighted the foundational role nature plays in our security and economy. For example, according to the World Bank, more than half of global GDP depends on nature. Other experts have shown that nature's services underpin as much as two thirds of our economic value here in Europe. Earlier this year, scientists gathered for the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Their assessment was clear: biodiversity loss is a threat to economic stability, to financial systems, and to the very foundations of human prosperity and national security. A recent UK government report echoed this warning – as have the European Central Bank and others. This should focus us all – from finance ministries and industry leaders to regional authorities, infrastructure planning departments and community leaders. The conclusions here are very clear. First – our businesses and economies need the natural world. Second – there is no such thing as a competitive economy on a dying planet, and no lasting security on an unstable Earth. And third – investing in ecosystems is among the smartest economic decisions we can make. Let me share some examples of what we're doing to make that investment easier, more coherent, and more impactful. The Nature Restoration Law is an important piece of legislation – with the aim of restoring wetlands, rivers, forests, urban green spaces, marine ecosystems, and agricultural land. Right now, we are helping Member States with their draft national plans – adapted carefully to local contexts and needs. And, from my visits to Member States and meetings with stakeholders, it is clear that combining ambitious goals with flexibility can deliver for citizens and society. Remember, nature restoration is the foundation upon which everything else we are discussing depends. Nature credits, vital bioeconomy investments, green finance frameworks: these only work if we restore and protect the ecosystems that underpin them. Today, despite our understanding of the economic importance of nature, it is often invisible in corporate accounts and absent from boardroom discussions. That need to change. We need to put nature on the balance sheet. The question is, how? Public funding is essential. The EU has set an ambitious target -- we want to spend ten per cent of the EU budget on biodiversity by 2027. And the total amount over seven years will be well over 100 billion euros. But public funding alone is not enough. That's why, last July, the Commission published a Roadmap towards Nature Credits. The idea is simple: nature-positive actions – like restoring wetlands or enhancing soil health – can be measured, certified, and recognised. Companies, financial institutions, and public entities can invest in these actions. And people like farmers and foresters can be rewarded for protecting ecosystems. Right now, we're developing systems and frameworks that give investors confidence. But we're not stopping there. This morning, seventy start-ups and entrepreneurs working on nature-tech and nature-based solutions met with investors. They pitched ideas and made connections. Some will go on to create innovative companies. Others will find the backing they need to scale transformative solutions. That event, Re: Invest in Nature, was a first for Green Week, and a first for the European Commission. It highlights how nature and economic opportunity are companions, not contradictions. And it shows the broad engagement and momentum we have for change. Ladies and gentlemen, We need to build a society where caring for ecosystems becomes second nature – not as romantics, not as idealists, but as people who understand how our world – and our economy – work. Ecosystems are the infrastructure that prop up all other infrastructure. So, when we invest in them, we are not choosing nature over growth, we are choosing the kind of growth that lasts. The entrepreneurs in our matchmaking event this morning know this. So do the companies and investors we'll hear from later. The scientists in Manchester who wrote the IPBES report understand it. Increasingly, so do policymakers and political leaders, citizens and economists, and farmers and landowners across Europe. Our task over the next two days – and the months and years ahead – is to turn that understanding into concrete action: in investment decisions, national restoration plans, bioeconomy strategies, nature credit markets, city planning, farming practice, and more. We have the tools. We have the legislation. And we have, right here in this room, extraordinary expertise and commitment. Let's use it, together. So, I wish you an inspiring event. And I urge all of you not just to listen and learn from this wonderful selection of speakers, but also to engage with each other. Turn this event into more than a conference, make it an engine of creativity. And help us to highlight the links between our environment and our economy – not only in conference rooms in Brussels, but across all levels of society and in all corners of Europe. Thank you. SPEECH/26/1247
Speech Brief