The Government has proposed new goals to increase biodiversity, protect habitats and reduce water consumption and pollution, halve waste and protect habitats. Campaigners argue that the targets are not sufficient to address air pollution.
The UK is thought to be one of Europe’s most polluted areas, with air and river pollution levels exceeding the recommended limits.
ShouldConsultations These targets were first announced today (16/03/) and will now be enshrined into law through the Environment Bill.
The Bill was intended to support the UK’s environmental protection efforts following Brexit. It received Royal Assent on November 2021, nearly two years after being introduced.
Around a year into the Bill’s progress, the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed that it would be used to introduce time-bound, numerical, legally binding targets on biodiversity, air quality, water and waste. The Department stated that they would be in place by the end of 2020 and would have deadlines in 2030.
The Department set a new goal to stop biodiversity loss by 2030. This is in line with the UN’s international biodiversity targets, which will be formally adopted in the next few weeks.
Today’s announcement from Defra builds on that pledge for nature with confirmation of the UK’s commitment to conserving 30% of land and water for nature by 2030. There is also a new 2030 target to increase species abundance on land by 10%.
Also, 2042 targets will be set to ensure that 70% are marine protected areas in a favourable condition and the rest in a state of recovery; to restore 500,000 ha of wildlife-rich habitats in non-protected areas as well as to decrease the number species on the red-list index of extinction.
A new version of the app is also available. ‘Green Paper on Nature Recovery’ These targets will be provided with more detailed information about how the Government plans on achieving them.
The Green Paper was first promised by Defra in May 2021 and is designed to support the UK’s commitment to protect 30% of habitats for nature this decade. It examines the UK’s ability to streamline its classification system and create new classifications in areas where active restoration efforts are underway.
The documents show that only 38% of the UK’s protected land areas are currently considered to be in good condition for the natural world. Degradation is also recognized in large parts of the UK’s protected marine areas.
Defra’s proposed solution is a single legal mechanism for terrestrial designation and a single legal mechanism for marine designation, but within each having the possibility of varying levels of protection. This, it claims, would streamline restoration work and allow for stronger and more targeted protections.
The Green Paper also discusses possible changes to the way nature conservation and rehabilitation is measured. These include reviews of the environmental licensing and permitting schemes and measures to increase the penalties for violating environmental law.
“We have just eight years to halt nature’s decline, and so we aren’t waiting for the conclusions from this consultation to be implemented in order to put the other necessary measures in place to put us on the right trajectory,” the documents note.
There is additional confirmation that the Government will launch a Big Nature Recovery Fund with an initial £30m from Westminster coffers later this year. Last year, consultations on the Fund were held. It is intended to encourage investment in scale-up nature-based solutions.
Air, water and trash
The main goal for air quality is to reduce the amount of fine particles (PM2.5), which in England amounts to between 20 and 10 micrograms per cubic metres of air. Last year, the World Health Organisation updated its guidance on PM2.5 and stated that countries should aim for 5 micrograms per cubic mile of air. This new goal has been met with poor reception.
On water, Defra has set out a range of new targets for 2037, aimed at addressing nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution from agriculture; phosphorus loadings from treated wastewater and pollution from abandoned metal mines.
A new ambition has been set to reduce the per-person water use in England by 20% by 2037. For the water targets, a baseline of 2019-20 has been selected.
The Government has been accused of lagging on waste in recent times, with Covid-19-related delays plaguing consultations on – and the introduction of – measures first detailed in the Resources and Waste Strategy set out in2018.
Today’s targets are based on the Strategy. These targets include halving residual trash per person by 2042.
Trend changing
For eight weeks, the targets will be subject to public consultation. These targets are intended to help the Government fulfill its commitment to leave nature in an improved state for the next generation. MPs, campaign groups, and think-tanks have repeatedly warned against the slow progress.
The landmark 2019 State of Nature report on biodiversity Report revealed that 41% of the UK’s native plant and animal species have declined since 1970, with the trend set to accelerate without intervention. Defra’s recently-announced plans to engage the agriculture sector to help reverse this trend have been poorly received in the main.
On air quality, ClientEarth has a new site that three-quarters of the UK’s urban centres are experiencing air pollution levels that exceed the EUs legal limits. The UK’s water quality is poor, even though it has high drinking water quality. The worst European country for bathing water quality in 2020. The Government was established in the following years. made headlinesAfter temporarily making it easier to pump untreated wastewater into rivers last fall, water companies were able to temporarily make it easier.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow has blamed the UK’s past membership of the EU for slow progress to date. She said: “EU directives have not done enough to halt the decline of nature.
“They have allowed our experts to be stewards of a process rather than stewards the environment. We now have the freedom and ability to do things better.
Industry reaction
Green groups and bodies representing the agriculture and conservation spaces have broadly welcomed Defra’s announcements today. There are still calls for the Department not to abandon them in the near future.
Greenpeace hoped the Government would continue to implement the 2042 pledge to end single use plastic use and make a commitment to reduce sales and distribution by half by 2025. It had also called for a ban on industrial fishing in the UK’s marine protected areas.
ClientEarth, Clean Air Fund, and Clean Air for All Campaign among others, had hoped for tighter PM2.5 limits.
The Food, Farming and Countryside Commission’s chief executive Sue Pritchard said: “We are experiencing a game-changing perfect storm. It combines the fallout from the pandemic and ongoing climate and nature crises, and now a geopolitical emergency with both immediate and long-term consequences.
“The temptation in such volatile times is to revert to solutions that mitigate the most immediate crisis. There is no one-size-fits all solution. We must manage food security risks And tackle the nature, climate and health crises. The only long-term solution is to end our dependence on fossil fuels, chemical fertilisers, and animal feeds. This will allow us to create a new food system that’s more equitable, sustainable, and secure. This is not the time to return to old and discredited methods. It is time to be braver, more resolute and more imaginative than ever.”
The Nature-Friendly Farming Network’s chair Martin Lines said: “The restoration of nature is not an optional add on or a luxury – it’s a core building block of sustainable food production. The package of measures outlined will provide an imperative starting point in protecting and enhancing biodiversity as the lifeblood of our farmed landscapes.”
As edie receives it, more reaction will be generated.
Sarah George
