Legislative conflict dimensions on environmental protection

Protecting and promoting biodiversity play a crucial role in combating climate change, as climate change exacerbates biodiversity loss, while measures to support biodiversity have a positive impact on the climate. While the scientific literature broadly acknowledges this mutual dependency, we know little about how these different aspects of environmental protection are considered in EU policymaking. The underlying logics of instruments applied to address climate change and biodiversity loss are fundamentally different in their assessment of productivity and economic growth; the former employs market-based solutions, while the latter relies on regulatory instruments. This inherent incompatibility of the respective solutions is not reflected in the analysis of environmental policy, nor the different lines of conflict they may create. Analysing recorded votes from the 9th European Parliament (2019–2024) on biodiversity and climate change legislation, we document how the voting behaviour across European party groups and national delegations varies across climate and biodiversity legislation.