Tomorrow, Wednesday 26th February, MPs will debate the
Government’s new Environment Bill for the first time. They do so
at a time when 58% of UK wildlife is in decline. One in seven
species is at risk of extinction[i]. Insects
are dying out up to 8 times faster than larger animals – 41% of
them face extinction[ii]. Globally, the
Intergovernmental Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
reports that up to 1 million animal and plant species are on the
verge of being lost forever[iii]. The
evidence couldn’t be clearer – nature is in crisis.
It’s not too late to act – but the need to do so has never been
more urgent. The Government’s new Environment Bill will be vital
to deliver action that kickstarts nature’s recovery and puts back
what we have already lost.
The Wildlife Trusts are calling on the Government to ensure the
Bill delivers in three key
areas to meet the scale of this crisis and meets its
manifesto promise of the “most ambitious
environmental programme of any country on earth:”
- A strong set of legally binding targets, informed by the best
independent, expert advice, which secure an environment that is
recovering, healthy, diverse and resilient for the benefit of
people and wildlife. Currently, we believe that
improvements are needed to how targets are set and met
- A new watchdog to enforce environmental laws that can
determine its own board and budget. Currently, the
proposed Office for Environmental Protection is not independent
from government enough, nor does it have strong enough
enforcement powers
- Guarantees that Local Nature Recovery Strategies will inform
decision-making that affects nature and will contribute to a
national Nature Recovery Network. Unfortunately, the
current Bill does not compel public authorities to use such
strategies in everyday decision making, such as planning
Elliot Chapman-Jones, The Wildlife Trusts’ public affairs
manager, says:
“It’s 9 months since Parliament declared an environmental
emergency and the Government’s Environment Bill offers a
concrete opportunity for MPs to turn strong words into real
action. To do this, the Environment Bill must guarantee
legally-binding targets that achieve real recovery for nature, a
powerful and genuinely independent environmental watchdog, and
Local Nature Recovery Strategies that compel real action on the
ground.
“The environmental decisions we make now will have important
implications for decades to come. By passing a world-leading
piece of legislation that drives action across the globe, we can
start to turn things around for nature – helping to tackle
climate change, and ensuring everyone can enjoy a healthy,
wildlife-rich natural world.”
