The Government has today unveiled its first Budget since the
general election.
In the run up to two major UN environmental conferences taking
place this year – COP26 in Glasgow and the Biodiversity
Convention in Kunming – today’s Budget is a major test of the
Government’s ambition to demonstrate world leading action at home
to reverse nature’s decline and put us on a path to net zero
carbon emissions.
The 2019 Conservative manifesto pledged to “prioritise the
environment in the next Budget” with investment in nature,
including a £640 million new Nature for Climate fund.[i]
Natural solutions have a big part to play in tackling the climate
crisis. Healthy natural habitats can store huge amounts of
carbon, and restoring our damaged, fragmented and threatened wild
places is essential if we are to reach net zero.
The Wildlife Trusts are playing a
leading role in making this happen, with projects around
the UK improving, expanding and protecting the wild places that
are key for capturing carbon. We are therefore pleased that the
Chancellor today pledged to use the new Nature for Climate fund
to protect, restore and expand vital habitats, including planting
around 30,000 hectares of trees and restoring 35,000 hectares of
peatland.
Joan Edwards, Director of Public Affairs and Marine
Conservation at The Wildlife Trusts, says:
“We are facing two inextricably linked crises – the climate
emergency and the massive decline of nature across the globe. The
Government’s Budget has recognised that we cannot solve one
crisis without tackling the other.
“The Nature for Climate fund could help restore vital habitats,
such as peatlands and saltmarshes, which have huge potential to
absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as well as helping
nature to recover. It is essential that this is done as part of a
wider national Nature Recovery Network to restore ecosystems and
give wildlife space to adapt and thrive.
“But for this to be a truly green budget, the Government must
ensure new spending announced on road infrastructure does not
come at the expense of nature. It is vitally important that we
protect our remaining wild places – for the benefit of people and
wildlife.”
Spending on nature needs a significant increase
Key to delivering the Government’s ambition stated in the Budget
of “leaving the environment in a better state for the next
generation” will also be the Environment and Agriculture Bills,
which are currently making their way through Parliament.
The Environment Bill introduces a new Office for Environmental
Protection (OEP) to ensure compliance with environmental law, as
well as measures to create Local Nature Recovery Strategies
(LNRSs), which could be key to supporting the creation of
a Nature Recovery
Network. The Agriculture Bill changes how taxpayers’ money is
spent on farmers and land managers – instead focusing on
environmental ‘public goods’.
Adequate investment will be needed to support the outcome of both
these Bills. In the Environment Bill, the new Office for
Environmental Protection should have enough funding to properly
hold the government to account, and the Chancellor should
guarantee sufficient resources for local authorities to create
Local Nature Recovery Strategies. Furthermore, crucial to the
success of the Government’s new agriculture policy will be
guaranteed long-term funding to deliver public
goods. Analysis
by The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB and National Trust shows that at
least £3 billion is needed to support our farmers and land
managers to help restore nature and tackle climate change on
their land.
Despite ongoing wildlife declines across the UK, government
spending on environmental protection has repeatedly been cut,
with spending on biodiversity decreasing by 34% since 2013/14.
Natural England, the government's adviser for the natural
environment, has had its budget cut by 47% since 2010, limiting
its capacity to carry out its core functions. This has left Sites
of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) – some of our best sites
for wildlife and geology – unmonitored and unprotected[ii].
Joan Edwards continues:
“Cuts to spending on biodiversity and environmental protection
has left some of our most precious places for nature at risk and
unchecked.
“With one in seven species threatened with extinction[iii],
funding for Defra and its statutory agencies must be given a
hefty increase to help tackle the ecological crisis. Without it,
we will continue to lose yet more wildlife.”
