Parliament must seize opportunity to strengthen the Environment Bill

Reacting to the return of the Environment Bill today, Signe Norberg, Public Affairs Manager at the Aldersgate Group, said: “It is great to see the Environment Bill return to Parliament after over 200 days. Progress on the Bill must continue now at pace to ensure that we have a robust environmental governance system after the end of the transition period. While the delay caused by the pandemic has been understandable, Government must now prioritise the Bill in order to provide sufficient time for comprehensive parliamentary scrutiny and minimise the risk of any governance gaps following the end of the transition period.”

Signe Norberg added: “The Environment Bill has the potential to be a world leading piece of environmental legislation but it needs to be strengthened in a number of areas, including the target setting process, the interim targets and the environmental improvement plans.[1] Further clarity on the creation of the Office for Environmental Protection and related interim arrangements will be crucial. This should include greater transparency on the new amendments giving the Secretary of State power to issue guidance on the watchdog’s enforcement function and moving environmental reviews from the Upper Tribunal to the High Court.”