Report Stage of the Environment Bill debated, House of Lords
Extract Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Con)...My amendment aims to set a
commitment to act on matters relating to light pollution that are
currently omitted from the Bill and would ensure that the
Government must produce targets to reduce levels of light pollution
in England. I will not go through all the examples I have written
down, because I think that many people know them for themselves;
besides which, we are a little pressed for...Request free trial
Report Stage of the Environment Bill debated, House of Lords
Extract
(Con)...My amendment aims to set a
commitment to act on matters relating to light pollution that are
currently omitted from the Bill and would ensure that the
Government must produce targets to reduce levels of light pollution
in England. I will not go through all the examples I have written
down, because I think that many people know them for themselves;
besides which, we are a little pressed for time. However, speaking
as a trustee of the Bat Conservation Trust, I know that artificial
lighting can cause many problems for bats, including disrupting
their roosting and feeding behaviour and their movement through the
landscape. In the worst cases, that can directly harm these
protected species. Even hedgehogs have been shown to avoid
lighting, restricting their movements in areas of high artificial
light.
18:15:00
Light pollution has been identified as a serious threat in
many areas biodiversity areas, but the amendment is not just for
the birds and the bees. Lighting is estimated to account for 15% of
global electricity consumption and 5% of global greenhouse gas
emissions. Social inequalities in exposure to light pollution occur
across urban and rural settings. Light pollution is negatively
impacting astronomy and our ability to observe the stars. The
British Astronomical Association estimates that 90% of the UK
population are unable to see the Milky Way from where they
live.
The Environment Agency’s state of the urban environment
report acknowledges that light pollution comes with urban life and
identifies an uneven distribution of the natural environment across
all sectors of society, leading to issues of environmental justice.
Humans have evolved to rely on the cycle of night and day to govern
our physiology, and evidence suggests that light exposure at the
wrong time has profound impacts on human circadian rhythm,
affecting physical and mental functions. Studies have also shown
links between artificial light at night and low melatonin levels
and disrupted circadian cycles with heart disease, diabetes,
depression and cancer, particularly breast and prostate
cancers.
To me, the evidence is clear that light pollution has a
significant impact on the normal activity of invertebrates, birds,
bats, plants and humans. These impacts are more than sufficient to
require action. It would be a failure not to address this before we
have the long-term data. Doing so would go against the Government’s
draft environmental principles, in particular the precautionary
principle but also the prevention and rectification at source
principles. As it is, there is no official report for the UK on
light pollution levels. However, and distinct from the previous
debate in which we talked about soil and how difficult it is to
measure soils, measuring light pollution is simple to do. Satellite
images can be used to establish pollution levels, and the
CPRE has developed a nine-band
classification system that could form the basis of monitoring
change.
My amendment is designed to provide clarity on how the
Government will reduce the impact of light pollution on nature and
people’s enjoyment of it. I am very grateful to my noble friend the
Minister. We have had some very good discussions on this during the
Recess. I know he understands it and I recognise that many noble
Lords regard this as a serious matter. Perhaps, as the noble Earl,
Lord Devon, said, it is not of the same magnitude as soil, and it
is possible that we cannot keep adding more and more to the list of
priorities, but I think that national targets should be set to
include, at a minimum, no net increase in light pollution, with an
ambition to reduce existing levels.
TO READ THE FULL DEBATE, CLICK
HERE
|
