The first priority set by The Wildlife Trusts was to bring back the UK’s lost wildlife. Decades of pollution and habitat loss have driven many species to the brink of extinction. Nature needs more space to breath. 

What has the Government done? 

• Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) Review: The EIP review has been a cornerstone of Labour’s initial work for nature. The review is an acknowledgement that the previous plan for the environment was ‘’off track’’, as noted by the Government’s own watchdog the Office for Environmental Protection. We are keenly waiting to hear more from this ‘rapid review’ and hope it can set a clear path to halting nature’s decline and protecting 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. 

• Foreign Policy: The Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s first major speech centered on the climate and nature crisis. He promised to put these issues at the heart of foreign policy and expand the ‘Blue Belt’ of marine protected areas across British controlled seas and oceans.   

What else is needed? 

• Though it is early, we haven’t yet seen progress on some of those issues that got held up by the previous Government. We are still waiting for the Government to introduce legislation to ban the sale of horticultural peat and license the release of beavers into the wild. We recently laid out why the reintroduction of beavers into the wild could make a real difference to nature’s recovery.   

Our second priority focuses on addressing river pollution and water scarcity. The UK has been grappling with severe water quality issues, exacerbated by agricultural runoff, ‘forever’ chemicals and sewage discharge. 

What has the Government done? 

• Water Special Measures Bill: Labour’s introduction of the Water Special Measures Bill marks a step towards improving water quality. The Bill aims to reduce pollution levels and enhance water management practices with a strong focus on water companies and their role in prioritising the environment and customers. 

• More to come?: The Government have assured us that this first Bill isn’t the end for water and that another piece of water legislation will be introduced in this Parliament. We believe this should focus on more than water companies, looking at chalk stream protections and other sources of pollution like transport and farming.  

What else is needed: 

• Improve the Water Special Measures Bill: We have been campaigning to make the current water legislation go further . It isn’t enough to come down hard on water company bosses, we need to see evidence of real investment in nature-based-solutions for sewage pollution, the end to storm overflows into our rivers and proper enforcement from overstretched and underfunded government agencies. 

• National River Walks: The election pledge for ‘nine national river walks’ is a good start and we welcome the focus on people and nature benefiting from action together. But with most rivers across the country in poor overall health, we need to see action across all rivers basins, not just a lucky few. 

The third priority is to support wildlife-friendly farming practices. Sustainable ‘regenerative’ agriculture is vital for the UK’s food security and environmental health in the face of climate driven chaos for farmers who have seen massive falls in crop yields in recent years. 

What has the Government done? 

• Supporting nature-friendly farmers: Labour promised to support regenerative farming and keep the vital financial support that promotes for nature-farming and climate resilience in their pre-election pledges. However, our research shows the nature-friendly farming budget needs to increase to £5.9 billion per annum across the UK to meet legally binding nature and climate targets. Will this need for increased ambition be recognised in the upcoming Budget? 

What else is needed?  

• Say NO to neonics: Despite the worst ‘bee-killing’ neonicotinoid pesticides being banned for years, for the last five years British Sugar has applied for the Government to override the ban and use the pesticide in sugar beet farming. Banning these toxic pesticides was a key election promise by Labour, we will keep pushing them not to break this pledge!  

• A ‘Land-Use Framework for nature: Without having a plan for how to use space, it is easy for farming, planning, business, nature and every other issue competing for space to be uncoordinated and inefficient. A new land-use framework would help create the nature-recovery network that wildlife needs to bounce back. 

The fourth priority is about the importance of enabling healthy communities by improving access to green spaces and promoting environmental health. This is largely done through the planning system which we know the new Labour Government is keen to make big changes to. But it is also about health and education, creating opportunities for nature-rich lives across our communities.  

What has the Government done? 

• Manifesto commitments: Steve Reed’s pre-election countryside manifesto highlighted the importance of integrating nature into urban planning. He promised green spaces and opportunities for community ownership. Labour’s main manifesto also said they would get on with 'building sustainable homes and creating places that increase climate resilience and promote nature recovery …without weakening environmental protections'.  

What else is needed? 

• Planning for Nature: With the Government making planning reform a top priority we released our Swift and Wild report last week. Building houses and restoring nature together calls for a strategic approach towards housebuilding as part of achieving environmental targets, including net-zero and protecting 30% of land for nature by 2030. The report highlights the importance of improving energy efficiency and access to nature during the housebuilding process. We are working hard to let the Government know how vital it is to get planning right or risk needless harm to nature which would slow down the delivery they want.  

• Green Social Prescribing: Our report in July 2024 showed that hundreds of millions of pounds could be saved by nature-based health and wellbeing initiatives that make people healthier and happier. We need to see this kind of natural health service supported by the Government as they consider plans for NHS reform. 

The final priority is to tackle the climate emergency. Climate change is a significant driver of biodiversity loss and the issue that Labour have made the most early progress in addressing.  

What has the Government done? 

• Net Zero Commitments: Labour has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and has set a clear and ambitious mission to deliver clean power by 2030. 

• GB Energy and Renewable Energy Investments: Significant investments in renewable energy projects have been made to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and promote sustainable energy sources. This is best shown through the announcement of ‘GB Energy’ which aims to drive net-zero investment across the country.  

• Warm Homes: There have also been announcements about funding for the drive to higher warmth standards and energy efficiency for homes, although precise details await the October budget  

What else is needed? 

• Nature-Based Solutions for climate: Big shiny windfarms are important and exciting, but just as important is using nature as a tool to make the UK more climate resilient and to store carbon. We need clean power, but we also need nature’s protection for food security, flooding, droughts, carbon storage and more.  

• Embed climate adaptation across Government: The job of restoring nature and allying with it for climate resilience is more than a job for DEFRA. The full breadth of government has a role to play. From housing to energy and health. Responsibility for this cross-team working must sit with the Cabinet Office, not pushed to the side. 

• Increase carbon-storing habitats: What good is renewable power if building it destroys a carbon storing habitat like peat or protected marine habitats? Our ‘Blue-Carbon’ report shows the enormous carbon stores that would be released from marine dredging, seabed trawling or if energy infrastructure is built on a protected site. You can’t reach a true net-zero energy system if you are releasing all the stored carbon in the process.