Goals to stop the decline of nature and clean up the air and water in England are slipping out of reach, a new report has warned.
An audit of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), which is the mechanism by which the government’s legally binding targets for improving nature should be met, has found that plans for thriving plants and wildlife and clean air are deteriorating. This plan was supposed to replace the EU-derived environmental regulations the UK used until the Environment Act was passed in 2021 after Brexit.
The report found that there was no data to measure many of the metrics such as habitat creation for wildlife and the status of sites of special scientific interest. It also highlighted that the government was off track to meet its woodland creation targets, and that water leakage from pipes had in fact increased since the targets were set.
The Labour party announced on Tuesday that it would overhaul these goals. The environment secretary, Steve Reed, said the government would lay out detailed delivery plans for each target, such as tree planting and air quality, working with environment groups to do so.
Reed said: “Nature is dying. Britain is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. Our animal species face extinction. Our precious landscapes are in decline. Our rivers, lakes and seas are awash with sewage and pollution. Air pollution continues to plague our towns and cities.
“Nature underpins everything – the economy, food, health and society – but we stand at a moment in history when nature needs us to defend it. That is why today we begin to chart a new course. Working with civil society, business and local government, we will develop an ambitious programme to turn the tide and save nature.”
Craig Bennett, the CEO of the Wildlife trusts, was part of a group that had been taking the previous government to court over its EIP, which it said was inadequate for the scale of the challenge faced.
He told the Guardian: “The previous plan didn’t have anything like the detail needed – it’s estimated only 3% of our land is protected for nature. We could turn it around by improving our wild spaces and designating new ones, but this would mean moving from the previous government’s platitudes to clear action on reversing nature’s decline. Biodiversity won’t stop declining by itself, we have to take clear actions.”
Glenys Stacey, the chair of nature watchdog the Office for Environmental Protection, said: “We have found that government is largely off track to meet the environmental ambitions as set out in the EIP. We welcome a rapid review of the EIP to make sure it can drive environmental protection and improvement at the scale and pace that is needed to address deeply concerning trends, and with the transparency that the sector and others need in order to fully play their part.”
