Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of supporting the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature and the G7 2030 Nature Compact; and what steps he is taking to prevent degradation of nature.

The degradation of nature is a global problem that needs a global solution. Government recognises the merits of supporting international actions, alongside taking steps domestically to assess and address this crucial issue.

The UK was pivotal in driving the Leader's Pledge for Nature in 2020 and remains fully committed to working towards global implementation of the important commitments contained in the Pledge. This week the UK contributed to a highly impactful Leader's Pledge for Nature event (co-hosted with the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and the Global Ocean Alliance) in the margins of the UN General Assembly where countries came forward with ambitious commitments to finance biodiversity and move to nature positive economies.

The UK led the drafting and agreement of the G7 2030 Nature Compact by Leaders during our G7 Presidency in 2021, and we are committed to the full implementation of all the commitments contained within it by 2030, including the headline target to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

Domestically, Government is committed to addressing the biggest environmental priorities of our age, including restoring and enhancing nature.

We have set out clear goals for habitats and species in England in our 25 Year Environment Plan (25YEP). The 25YEP marked a step change in ambition for wildlife and the wider natural environment and we are already taking action to fulfil this ambition. We are maintaining and extending key protections; introducing new legislation and new funding streams; we are supporting partnerships and we are working across Government to secure broad action.

Our world-leading Environment Act 2021 puts environmental ambition and accountability at the very heart of government, by establishing a comprehensive legal framework for environmental improvement. The act includes a range of specific measures and actions to directly tackle biodiversity loss and sets a new and ambitious domestic framework for environmental governance now we have left the European Union.

Notably, the Act requires a new, legally binding target to be set to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. This is in addition to setting at least one long-term legally binding target for biodiversity alongside targets on water, air quality and waste reduction.

We will set out all of our long-term targets, and our approach to meeting them, in our revised Environmental Improvement Plan in January 2023. This plan will mean that progress can be monitored, and Government will be held accountable for actions to recover nature.

The Environment Act also introduces measures that will strengthen our action for nature and lay the foundation for the Nature Recovery Network, a network of places that are richer in wildlife, more resilient to climate change and provide wider environmental benefits including carbon capture and recreation. Biodiversity Net Gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities will work together to drive action towards our targets for nature recovery, alongside wider action and investment to create or restore habitats that enable wildlife to recover and thrive, while conservation covenants will help secure habitat for the long term.