Environment Act becomes law: reactive statement

Reacting to the Environment Bill becoming law, Nick Molho, Executive Director at the Aldersgate Group, said: “The passage of the Environment Act into law marks a major milestone for the UK, particularly as it hosts the important COP26 climate summit. Having a framework which supports nature restoration and looks at the whole of the environment – including land as well as sea – is a key step forward in efforts to reverse the decline of nature. Businesses have long supported an ambitious and robust Environment Act, and having legally binding long-term targets will play a significant role in making continuous improvements to the natural environment.”

Nick Molho added: “Going forward, our collective attention should turn to delivering the ambition of the Environment Act on the ground. The forthcoming consultation on the development of the long-term targets must deliver ambitious targets that reflect the urgency and scale of nature restoration required. Similarly, it will be important to ensure that the new Office for Environmental Protection is able to carry out its function of holding the Government and public bodies to account, and that there are strong and credible interim targets in place to support short-term delivery. Finally, to be delivered effectively and affordably, the targets of the Environment Act must be embedded across government policy in areas such as planning and agriculture.”