The Environment Bill was due to have its Report Stage and third reading on Tuesday 26 January 2021, however the government instead tabled a motion to carry over the Bill to the Second Parliamentary Session due to exceptional pressure on the Parliamentary timetable as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The government says that carrying over the Bill will allow for more time for Parliamentary scrutiny, but the delay has been strongly criticised by environmentalists.  For more information on the latest developments, click here.

The Government has confirmed the Environment Bill will be carried over to the next parliamentary session.

Defra: ‘The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in exceptional pressure on the Parliamentary timetable which has reduced the amount of Parliamentary time available for the scrutiny of legislation.

Carrying over the Bill to the next session – when it will complete Report Stage and head to the House of Lords for full scrutiny  – does not hold back the government’s environmental ambition and we are continuing at pace with our plans linked to the Bill.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said:

“We remain fully committed to the Environment Bill as a key part of delivering the Government’s manifesto commitment to create the most ambitious environmental programme of any country on Earth.

“Carrying over the Bill to the next session does not diminish our ambition for our environment in any way – with Report Stage recommencing early in the Second Session and Royal Assent expected in the Autumn. 

“Key work on implementing the Bill’s measures will continue at pace, including establishing the Office for Environmental Protection, setting long-term legally-binding targets for environmental protection and creating a new Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers.”  Click here to read more

Richard Benwell – Wildlife Link – The need for a State of Nature Amendment

Tomorrow, MPs will debate a critically important amendment to the Environment Bill.

As it stands, the bill includes a promise to set legally-binding environmental targets. But there is no guarantee about what they will cover, or how ambitious they will be. Not a single target will be set before Autumn 2022, and no deadline can come sooner than 2037.

For some aspects of the natural environment, that is probably ok: we already have targets for air and water from the EU that will be in force until 2027 or beyond – though of course there are strong arguments for including targets like a WHO standard for air pollution in the bill. In other areas, there remains technical work to be done about metrics and measurement.

But for biodiversity that framework is too slow and too uncertain.

We need a “net zero” equivalent for nature

We have no legally-binding targets in place for the recovery of species and habitats. There is no fixed goal for nature’s recovery to galvanise action across Whitehall, give the confidence needed for private sector investment, or provide a reference point for holding government to account. Without that legal anchor point, environmental action is allowed to slip down the priority list whenever the going gets tough and policy promises can be quietly forgotten   ……

The “state of nature” amendment

Now, a cross-party group of MPs has tabled a “State of Nature Amendment” (NC5 here) that would set this 2030 target to halt and begin to reverse the decline in nature in law. The amendment was tabled by Hilary Benn (Labour), with the support of Dr Matthew Offord (Conservative), Caroline Lucas (Green) and Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat) and a growing number of MPs.

Click here to read more

Greener UK Government delays the Environment Bill for the third time 

The government’s flagship Environment Bill has been delayed for the third time by at least six months as the government was concerned that it would run out of time to complete parliamentary discussions on the bill before the end of the current parliamentary session. The bill will now be reintroduced in the next parliamentary session, which is expected to begin in May. This has caused many environmental groups to question the government’s environmental commitments.

Minister Rebecca Pow has given reassurances that the work on the bill will continue in the meantime and that it will achieve Royal Assent by COP26. We will be pressing the government to use this time to strengthen the bill, for example on the independence of the Office for Environmental Protection and the nature provisions. Read this blog and our briefing for more information on how the government should improve the bill.