New polling by research agency, Savanta, commissioned by The Wildlife Trusts, shows that 66% of the UK public believes that nature is fundamental to economic growth, providing essential services such as food, drinking water and clean air.1 Yet, this strong public understanding is at odds with the UK Chancellor's seemingly desperate pursuit of economic growth at any cost.  

Given this context, The Wildlife Trusts are not alone in believing the UK Government has an opportunity to deliver green growth, protecting and restoring the natural foundations that underpin the economy, and ensuring a sustainable future.  

Here are the fundamental ways in which we believe working with nature, rather than against it, will help the UK Government’s current agenda: 

1. Investing in nature-based solutions to protect the economy

The natural world is the bedrock of large sections of the UK economy and any project to deliver long-term and lasting economic growth must keep this in mind. The agricultural and food sectors alone are worth £147 billion annually, with forestry, fishing, aquaculture and timber worth another £5 billion. A significant portion of the UK’s £237.1 billion tourism sector is also underpinned by nature, with millions of visitors enjoying nature from the highlands of Scotland to the Cotswolds, Lake District and other iconic wildlife-rich landscapes across the UK.   

Yet the Green Finance Institute estimates that the ongoing degradation of nature is a drag on the UK economy and could lead to an estimated 12% reduction in GDP in the years ahead. This fact is not lost on the public, as demonstrated by the recent poll.2 Investing in ‘nature-based solutions’ is not only popular but essential to secure economic growth while building resilience against climate change and nature’s decline. 

We are already starting to see the disastrous impact of both on the economy, with the widespread flooding across the UK. Between January 2016 and November 2019, flooding alone cost the UK economy £708 million. This figure is projected to rise as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Research suggests nature-based solutions could reduce the intensity of climate hazards by 26%, saving the UK economy billions of pounds.    

For example, beaver reintroductions can build resilience by storing and slowing water flow, reducing winter flooding and retaining water in summer droughts. This can mitigate the impact of extreme weather events, providing the stability necessary for economic growth. Without the resilience that natural habitats provide, issues like water scarcity threaten to undermine the UK Government’s wider missions, such as its intention to build 1.5 million homes over the course of the Parliament. In Cambridgeshire this has already come to bear, with a lack of water leading to the scuppering of thousands of planned new homes.  

2. Driving growth in the rural economy

The climate and nature crises also undermine growth in the rural economy; sky-high input costs from fertilisers and an increasingly unstable climate have reduced crop yields, threatening the UK’s food security. In 2024, the country faced its second-worst harvest in four decades across key crops after the wettest 18 months since 1836. This resulted in Defra paying £57.5 million to support farmers affected by extreme rain and flooding—over six times the amount made between 2015 and 2020. Uncertain seasons and extreme weather events make it harder to keep food on supermarket shelves. 

The UK agricultural sector and associated jobs are at risk due to the collapse of natural ecosystems. This fragile, insecure food system will mean greater food imports, impacting the UK’s trade balance, harming our national security and undermining the UK economy more broadly. 

Nature-friendly farming practices are the solution to building and securing long-term growth and rising household incomes within the rural economy. Research shows that these practices reduce costs and diversify farmers' income, with potential profit increases of up to 45%. These measures also mitigate the need for government recovery funds, such as the farming recovery fund, by helping farmers build better resilience. Moreover, linking nature-friendly farming to local markets - building regional and local supply chains - will deliver more enterprise, keep wealth circulating locally and create thousands of jobs. To secure economic growth in the rural economy and to protect UK food security, the UK Government must back nature-friendly farming practices. 

3. A Retrofit revolution 

For decades now, political parties of all stripes have periodically pushed for measures to retrofit old housing stock to ensure they are more energy efficient. Indeed, the new UK Government announced plans to raise energy efficiency rules for social housing in September. Analysis shows that 9.6 million UK households live in poorly insulated homes, putting significant stress on the NHS as those living in cold homes are at much higher risk of developing poor physical and mental health. 

In fact, research has shown that improving the energy efficiency of homes would bring a £39 billion boost to Britain through a range of economic and social benefits by 2030. Beyond the long-term gains, retrofitting homes would provide immediate relief to the UK population; keeping them warmer through this winter and the next—crucial as energy prices are projected to remain high, with wholesale prices expected to remain well above the averages seen in the last decade. 

A nationwide retrofit revolution wouldn’t just address the energy crisis; it would be a catalyst for balanced economic growth. According to IPPR, such efforts could support 2.6 million skilled jobs, particularly in regions most in need of growth, such as the North East and West Midlands. As a result, the policy would unlock growth across all regions in the UK, moving away from the London-centric growth strategies we have seen for several years.  

Retrofitting homes will significantly reduce the UK's increasing energy demand, providing the UK Government with more breathing space to focus on approving energy projects that also contribute to nature recovery. By decreasing the need for intensive energy expansion, which can negatively impact our natural environment, a retrofitting revolution supports government climate targets while driving social and economic progress. 

A healthy economy and a healthy environment are possible  

The UK Government has an electoral mandate to push for growth. However, the key question remains: who benefits, and to what end? Growth that degrades the natural world is ultimately unsustainable and unpopular, leaving us more vulnerable to extreme weather patterns. There is also a risk that growth plans could focus on particular hotspots, potentially entrenching regional disparities.   

The fragility of the economy without nature exposes recent rhetoric about nature vs growth by the Prime Minister and Chancellor as an utterly shallow and self-defeating argument. If you pit nature against the economy, you don’t just get rid of bats and newts, you get rid of long-term economic security too. In contrast, the green growth policies outlined above offer the opportunity to create more balanced growth shared across sectors and regions of the UK.  

If Chancellor Reeves is serious about delivering long-term growth rather than a short-term sugar rush of narrow reforms, focussed on winning headlines rather than solving genuine problems, then nature’s recovery must be integrated into all growth policies.