With the doors soon to open at COP16, nature groups are warning in a new progress tracker that inadequate action from the previous Government has left England off-track on meeting global biodiversity commitments.
Out of 26 rankings England is judged to be ‘in the red’ on more than half (14 of the 26), with policies currently expected to be inadequate to meet targets in all areas. This leaves a major inherited challenge for the Government, which requires swift action to avoid failure on key 2030 international nature commitments.
The progress tracker contains 26 rankings on action towards 23 Biodiversity Plan targets agreed at Montreal, these show that:
- 2 target rankings are in “dark red” due to backwards progress
- 12 are in “red” with no progress made
- 12 are in “yellow” with limited progress made
Of particular concern are two targets where policy in England was judged to have gone backwards in the run up to the General Election in July. Action to minimise the impact of climate change on nature is marked “dark red.” Reasons include the Climate Change Committee confirming that only a third of UK emissions reductions required to meet the 2030 target were covered by credible plans. In addition, for the second time in two years, the High Court ruled in May 2024 that the Government would have to redraft its net zero strategy because its existing plan did not provide enough detail about how future targets could be met.
The report also rated action to reduce chemical pollution in the dark red due to the current weak regulation around PFAS forever chemicals and other harmful substances. The previous Government failed to deliver a UK Chemicals Strategy (first promised in 2018). And while the new Government is exploring chemical policy as part of its EIP review, the UK continues to fall behind the EU and other nations on bans and wider protections around chemicals that are hazardous to people and wildlife.
Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said:
“The last global target to save nature was a spectacular failure because countries didn’t follow through with national action. A whole decade was lost, and more species were pushed toward extinction. The Global Biodiversity Framework is a second chance, but so far the UK has come nowhere close to the reform and investment needed to turn round wildlife decline.
“The new Government still has time to show that the UK is true to its word for wildlife on the world stage. The UK should accelerate nature-friendly farming, use planning reforms to protect 30% of the land and sea for nature, and set tough new regulations to ensure the private sector helps pay for nature recovery. With a strong new Environmental Improvement Plan in hand, UK Ministers can step back into a leading role in protecting our planet.”
A link to the full report can be found here.
