The Environment Bill was approved by the House of Lords last night (Tuesday, November 9) after three years of 'ping pong' with the House of Commons and campaigning by The Wildlife Trusts and others to make the bill the best it could be.

Today we are pleased to see it receive Royal Assent in its final, much-strengthened form.

The inclusion of a legally-binding 2030 species abundance target has the potential to boost efforts to reverse the decline in wildlife and will put the UK on the path towards protecting 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030.

The new requirement for planning applications to provide Biodiversity Net Gain will encourage developers to put nature at the heart of their work, whilst Local Nature Recovery Strategies will create the framework for a national system of interconnected sites for nature.

Yet the Environment Act does not live up to its promise to be a world-leading piece of legislation: plans for the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) have been improved by ministers, but the clause that the Secretary of State will be able to provide the OEP with “guidance” – even where cases affect ministers themselves – drastically undermines its independence.

The Government resisted all efforts to put legally binding interim targets within the Act and the duty for local authorities to follow Local Nature Recovery Strategies plans is weak. 

It is also vital that Government agencies like Natural England and the Environment Agency are given the necessary funding to facilitate their role in delivering on the Act: without it we will continue to see habitats decline and rivers badly polluted.

The Government must use every power it has to tackle the inseparable climate and nature emergencies. At COP26 the UK has advertised itself as a global leader on climate action but, despite containing valuable new commitments, this Environment Act fails to live up to that promise.

Estelle Bailey, BBOWT Chief Executive, says:

"Today is a day for cautious optimism as the Environment Act finally becomes law after years of campaigning. Legally binding targets for species abundance, new Local Nature Recovery Strategies, biodiversity net gain for new developments and the creation of the Office for Environmental Protection all offer us the chance to finally reverse nature’s decline and tackle the nature and climate crises.

"We have the tools - but now we need to make sure they are used properly: unfortunately the Environment Act is not as strong as we wanted, which means the onus is on us to continue to hold Government to account and ensure weaknesses in the Act are not exploited. The Government needs to use every power it has to tackle the nature and climate crisis with a sense of urgency and determination. If it doesn’t, the consequences could be catastrophic."