Window to stop decline of England’s nature closing fast, watchdog says
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Office for Environmental Protection calls for urgent action after finding government is falling short on most targets. The window to stop the decline of England’s nature is swiftly closing, the environmental watchdog has said, as its latest report finds that the government is falling short on most of its targets to improve the environment.
Some of Labour’s actions, however, including setting up a water commission and writing a new environmental improvement plan, were praised by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) in its annual review of how the government was meeting the legally binding environment targets.
The OEP’s chair, Glenys Stacey, said: “With each passing month, the window of opportunity to redress environmental harms is closing, while the effort needed and cost to do so increases. This government must act urgently and decisively to catch up if it is to meet its legal obligations.
“Catch up not just by developing plans, but then by fully and effectively implementing them. It has several legally binding commitments only a few years away. The window of opportunity is closing fast.”. The OEP was set up after Brexit. It holds the government to account under the Environment Act 2021, which was passed to replace EU law. The EU can sanction member states if they fall behind on environmental standards, but once the UK had left, this was the only way to hold ministers to account.
The OEP’s assessment of the government’s prospects of meeting 43 environmental targets and commitments found that it was largely on track to achieve nine, partially on track to achieve 12 and largely off track to achieve 20. Partially on track means the government will fail to hit the target but has made progress. Two targets could not be assessed on account of insufficient evidence. Last year the government was largely on track to achieve four, partially on track to achieve 11 and largely off track to achieve 10.
