Soil strategy for 2030

The EU soil strategy aims to ensure that, by 2050

• all EU soil ecosystems are healthy and more resilient and can therefore continue to provide their crucial services
• there is no net land take and soil pollution is reduced to levels that are no longer harmful to people’s health or ecosystems
• protecting soils, managing them sustainably and restoring degraded soils is a common standard

The strategy contains several key actions

• tabling a dedicated legislative proposal on soil health by 2023 to enable the objectives of the EU soil strategy and achieve good soil health by 2050
• making sustainable soil management the new normal, by proposing a scheme for land owners to get their soils tested for free, promoting sustainable soil management through the CAP and sharing best practices
• considering proposing legally binding objectives to limit  drainage of wetlands and organic soils and to restore managed and drained peatlands to mitigate and adapt to climate change
• investigating streams of excavated soils and assessing the need and potential for a legally binding “soil passport” to boost circular the economy and enhance reuse of clean soil
• restoring degraded soils and remediating contaminated sites
• preventing desertification by developing a common methodology to assess desertification and land degradation
• increasing research, data and monitoring on soil
• mobilising the necessary societal engagement and financial resources

Previous and upcoming actions:

• Nature and biodiversity
• Soil and land and EU Soil Observatory
• Horizon Europe Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ (find out more Funding and opportunities in line with the Soil Mission)

• European Green Deal
• Zero pollution action plan
• EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 
• Farm to fork strategy
• Circular economy action plan
• Chemicals Strategy
• Forest Strategy
• Climate Adaptation Strategy

The former Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection (2012)  identifies the key soil threats in the EU as erosion, floods and landslides, loss of soil organic matter, salinisation, contamination, compaction, sealing and loss of soil biodiversity. It consists of a Communication (COM (2006) 231) from the Commission to the other European institutions, a proposal for a framework Directive (COM(2006) 232), and an Impact Assessment (SEC(2006) 620).

View the 2012 policy report on the implementation of this strategy. It contains an overview of actions taken to implement the four pillars of the Strategy, namely awareness raising, research, integration, and legislation.

01 August 2022 - The public consultation on the Soil Health Law is now open for your feedback! Share your views with us by filling in the online questionnaire until 24 October 2022.

17 November 2021: Press release - Commission adopts new proposals to stop deforestation, innovate sustainable waste management and make soils healthy for people, nature and climate

17 November 2021: Question and Answers - New EU Soil Strategy for 2030.

Discover the latest news on Mission Soil published by the European Research Executive Agency

New EU Soil Strategy for 2030

Staff Working Document accompanying the Strategy

Factsheet – New EU Soil Strategy for 2030

Healthy soils are the foundation of 95% of the food we eat and host 25% of all biodiversity on the planet. They are our allies against climate change. Our goal is to ensure that all soil ecosystems in the EU are healthy and resilient by 2050.