Plans to restore nature, improve environmental quality, and increase the prosperity of our country was set out by the government on Tuesday 31st January, as it published its Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.
Building on the vision set out five years ago in the 25 Year Environment Plan, with new powers and duties from the Environment Act, Agriculture Act and Fisheries Act, it provides a comprehensive delivery plan for the government’s approach to halting and then reversing the decline in nature.
This was the central target agreed in the new global deal for nature at the UN Nature Summit COP15 in December, which UK leadership helped deliver. The plan published today underpins that ambition domestically, with progress measured against stretching interim targets.
It will be unveiled by the Environment Secretary Dr Thérèse Coffey at a keynote speech this morning.
It covers how government will:
- Create and restore at least 500,000 hectares of new wildlife habitats, starting with 70 new wildlife projects including 25 new or expanded National Nature Reserves and 19 further Nature Recovery Projects
- Deliver a clean and plentiful supply of water for people and nature into the future, by tackling leaks, publishing a roadmap to boost household water efficiency, and enabling greater sources of supply
- Challenge councils to improve air quality more quickly and tackle key hotspots.
- Transform the management of 70% of our countryside by incentivising farmers to adopt nature-friendly practices.
- Boost green growth and create new jobs – from foresters and farmers to roles in green finance and research and development.
The public will also benefit from a new commitment to access green space or water within a 15-minute walk from their home, such as woodlands, wetlands, parks and rivers.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:
“Protecting our natural environment is fundamental to the health, economy and prosperity of our country.
“This plan provides the blueprint for how we will deliver our commitment to leave our environment in a better state than we found it, making sure we drive forward progress with renewed ambition and achieve our target of not just halting, but reversing the decline of nature.”
Environment Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, said:
“Our Environmental Improvement Plan sets out how we will continue to improve our environment here in the UK and around the world. Nature is vital for our survival, crucial to our food security, clean air, and clean water as well as health and well-being benefits.
“We have already started the journey and we have seen improvements. We are transforming financial support for farmers and landowners to prioritise improving the environment, we are stepping up on tree planting, we have cleaner air, we have put a spotlight on water quality and rivers and are forcing industry to clean up its act.
“Whether you live in a city or town, in the countryside or on the coast, join us in our national endeavour to improve the environment.”
Other new commitments set out today include:
Nature:
- A multi-million pound Species Survival Fund to protect our rarest species – from hedgehogs to red squirrels.
- Through the support of government schemes 65 to 80% of landowners and farmers will adopt nature friendly farming practices on at least 10 to 15% of their land by 2030. They will also be supported to create or restore 30,000 miles of hedgerows a year by 2037 and 45,000 miles of hedgerows a year by 2050.
Water:
- Setting out 10 actions we are taking on water efficiency in new developments and retrofits, including reviewing building regulations and other legislation to address leaky loos and confusing dual flush buttons and to enable new water efficient technologies
- Restoring 400 miles of river through the first round of Landscape Recovery projects and establishing 3,000 hectares of new woodlands along England’s rivers.
- Reforming the current regulatory framework to rationalise the number of regulatory plans and create a more efficient system which better enables joined up working to achieve catchment-level outcomes
Air:
- Challenging councils to improve air quality more quickly by assessing their performance and use of existing powers, while supporting them with clear guidance, funding, and tools.
- Reducing ammonia emissions through incentives in our new farming schemes, while considering expanding environmental permitting condition to dairy and intensive beef farms.
- Improving the way air quality information is communicated with the public.
Waste:
- Making it easier for people to do the right thing to minimise their waste, including a new set of interim targets for 2028 to reduce different types of waste, including plastic, glass, metal, paper, and food.
The plan sets out a clear framework to ensure progress can be clearly tracked.
The environmental principles policy statement will also be published today. It means that, from 1 November 2023, environmental protection and enhancement will be embedded into the design and development of new policy across Government.
