European Commission proposal for a Soil Monitoring Law

ClientEarth critiques the European Commission's proposed Soil Monitoring Law for lacking legally-binding targets and implementation timetables. The briefing recommends establishing a long-term target of 100% healthy soils by 2050 with intermediate milestones, requiring Member States to implement detailed soil district management plans, and ensuring meaningful public participation and access to justice to prevent the law from being ineffective.

• The current proposal for the Soil Monitoring Law is deemed insufficient because it lacks legally-binding and time-bound targets and does not require Member States to create implementation timetables for monitoring and improving soil health, which may necessitate substantial revisions to the law in a few years.
• ClientEarth recommends that the Directive establish a legally-binding long-term target of 100% healthy soils across the EU by 2050, supported by intermediate targets to track progress and prevent the delay of meaningful action.
• The briefing proposes the introduction of mandatory soil district management plans for every soil district in each Member State. These plans should include soil characteristics, human impact summaries, monitoring network maps, a linear trajectory toward 100% healthy soils by 2050, and estimated financing needs.
• To ensure effective implementation, the document suggests establishing national monitoring committees including civil society and academic actors, as well as a European Healthy Soils Forum to share best practices among stakeholders.
• Meaningful public participation is identified as essential, requiring that the public—including youth, local communities, and Indigenous Peoples—be given early and effective opportunities to participate in the development of soil plans with full access to underlying scientific data.

APA

ClientEarth (2023). European Commission proposal for a Soil Monitoring Law. https://www.clientearth.org/media/wxce3utr/soil-monitoring-law-proposal-technical-briefing-on-establishing-a-robust-governance-structure.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. European Commission proposal for a Soil Monitoring Law. 2023. https://www.clientearth.org/media/wxce3utr/soil-monitoring-law-proposal-technical-briefing-on-establishing-a-robust-governance-structure.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=European Commission proposal for a Soil Monitoring Law |date=October 2023 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/wxce3utr/soil-monitoring-law-proposal-technical-briefing-on-establishing-a-robust-governance-structure.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2023european, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{European Commission proposal for a Soil Monitoring Law}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/wxce3utr/soil-monitoring-law-proposal-technical-briefing-on-establishing-a-robust-governance-structure.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }