The Environment Bill: A Fresh Chance for Green Recovery
What are the latest amendments to the Environment Bill and what could this mean for tree planting and woodland in a post-lockdown UK?
On 19th August, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced several amendments to the Environment Bill, kick-starting the government’s ‘build back greener’ mission.
A first draft of the 2019-21 Bill was released last October with revisions published in February 2020.
The latest amendments show how the government will set its long-term, legally binding environment targets by the end of October 2022.
While legislators don’t commit to specifics, the paper gives some clarity on how the government will set targets that “benefit future generations and respect nature’s intrinsic values” going forward.
What is the Environment Bill?
The Environment Bill 2019-21, written by Defra, is a proposal for stricter environmental measures to be put in place across the UK for the benefit of people and wildlife alike.
It covers many important areas, including biodiversity, water pollution, air quality and plastic waste. Among the Bill’s major focus areas are tree planting and woodland management.
The Bill sets out interim environmental targets that the government must reach over the next five years, in line with the 25-Year Environment Plan. Many have described the Bill as ‘ambitious’ due to its promises of wide-scale environmental change.
The Bill was being considered by a Public Bill Committee at the start of the year, which is common practice for all Bills other than Money Bills. However, due to COVID-19, this has been delayed to 29th September 2020.
Prior to the 2019-21 Bill, environmental targets and protections did exist in the form of the Environment Act 1995 (and before this the Environmental Protection Act 1974), which saw the introduction of the Environment Agency and tackled waste, air quality and contaminated areas of land.
Separate acts and orders also exist, such as the Climate Change Act 2008 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1991, looking at specific environmental areas.
As Mark Broadmeadow of the Forestry Commission states in his CFT blog, in terms of trees and woods there are currently 41 legal requirements, 61 good practice requirements and 312 guideline bullets defining the UK’s approach to sustainable forest management.
What does the Bill mean for trees?
As part of the 25-Year Environment Plan (published 2019), the government is set to expand and manage our woodland areas to increase the delivery of ecosystem services.
The Environment Bill pledges to increase tree planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares of trees per year by 2025.
The latest amendments to the Bill reinforce the steps the government will take to increase tree planting across the UK. It states that it will be:
developing a new England Tree Strategy to set out policy changes and proposals to increase tree planting – including riparian planting – protect and improve our existing trees and woodlands, connect people with nature and support the economy
developing plans to deploy the £640 million Nature for Climate Fund to increase tree-planting in England over this parliament in line with the government’s manifesto commitment
Where are we now?
The Environment Bill will follow a timeline:
19th August 2020 – Amendments to Environment Bill published
29th September 2020 – Public Bill Committee to report on the Environment Bill
Early 2022 – Public consultation of the Bill
End of October 2022 – All Environment Bill interim goals to be decided
End of 2027 – Short-term goals met and long-term goals are being worked towards
Mid-to-late 2030s – Deadline for all measures to be in place
As interim and long-term targets have yet to be set, we now must wait to for the next steps.
“With its focus on tree planting and land management for wildlife and woodland, the Bill gives us hope that we are emerging from COVID-19 into a world that lives in harmony with nature.”
Iain Taylor, Director, at Community Forest Trust
In response to the amendments, Iain Taylor, Director, at Community Forest Trust, says:
“We are currently in a period of immense opportunity for green recovery. The amendments to the Environment Bill, just as we are coming through the coronavirus crisis, show the government’s commitment to a greener and brighter future.
“With its focus on tree planting and land management for wildlife and woodland, the Bill gives us hope that we are emerging from COVID-19 into a world that lives in harmony with nature.
He adds; “The Community Forests are at the forefront of delivering tree and woodland planting across England and are poised to maximise new opportunities as well as continue to make a real difference to people’s lives across many communities in England.”