Defra has launched a targets consultation and new Nature Recovery Green Paper and there has been extensive coverage of the announcement. Some reports criticised the developments and Defra has responded to some of these.

The Nature Recovery Green Paper sets out the ambition to enable nature’s recovery in England, laying out proposals to support the aim to halt and reverse the loss of nature over the last 50 years.

The Environment Act 2021 requires the government to set at least one long-term target in each of the following areas: air quality; water; biodiversity; and resource efficiency and waste reduction. Defra are considering targets beyond the legal minimum required, with additional proposals on: biodiversity; water; marine; and woodland cover.

The press release for their launch can be found here, the Nature Recovery Green Paper can be found here and the Environmental Targets consultation can be found here.

The extensive coverage of the announcement appeared in The Times, Sky News, BBC Online, The I. and the Guardian. Defra’s response to some of the criticisms can be read in their blog below and here.

Water

The new proposed targets under the Environment Act will tackle the major sources of pollution in our rivers and improve water quality.

There have been some suggestions reported that we are ‘dropping’ national targets for all rivers. That is not correct – the Water Framework Directive is enshrined in UK law. For England, this means achieving Good Ecological Status for 75% of water bodies by 2027.  The targets published yesterday work with existing targets to support them and fill any gaps, and are designed to be mutually reinforcing.

We will continue to keep our targets framework under review, including EU legacy targets such as WFD. At least every five years, we will assess whether to modify existing targets to make them more ambitious or set additional long-term targets.

The full response can be read here.