Over the weekend, The Daily Telegraph broke the story that the Environment Bill was to be beset by a further delay of unknown length. The paper had received a briefing from Downing Street that the government was reluctant to accept amendments passed last week when the House of Lords debated the bill.
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The government’s landmark Environment Bill is nearing the end of a complex and fraught journey. When Parliament returns on 6 September, Peers will debate and vote on a series of key amendments. The bill is expected to pass in the autumn ahead of the COP26 summit, where we hope that it will help spur successful negotiations.
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This post is by Zoe Avison, policy analyst at Green Alliance.
The Environment Bill is currently being scrutinised in the House of Lords and returns today for another session of debate on a mammoth list of amendments put forward for consideration.
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This government is not short of environmental aspiration. It wants to have the most ambitious environmental programme of any country on earth and has cast its sights beyond immediate horizons, promising to leave the environment in a better state for future generations. However noble, long term goals need legal anchors and decisive delivery to keep them on course.
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The new parliamentary session which starts on 11 May will be a crucial one for the environment. In this ‘super year’ of major international nature and climate summits, parliament will debate and pass the first dedicated Environment Bill for over twenty years.
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Our dynamic, living planet is on a journey: the UK government has made it clear it wants the destination to be an environment in a better state than we found it, a welcome ambition which is embedded in the government’s long term environment strategy. But clear signposts will be needed to ensure that we don’t lose our way and we can navigate the choices and challenges that lie ahead.
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A welcome new report from the cross cutting Public Accounts Committee has set down a clear challenge for the government on why action to meet its long term environmental goals must be accelerated.
Coming only days after the announcement that the flagship Environment Bill was being carried over into the next parliamentary session, bringing a delay of some six months, the report offers a timely reminder that environmental progress cannot be assumed and requires sustained leadership and commitment.
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This is meant to be a year of environmental ambition. In November, the prime minister announced his plan for a green industrial revolution, while COP President Alok Sharma’s recurring message is that “…urgent action is the only way to meet our [climate] goal”.
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This post is by Matt Williams, trustee of the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust.
In 2019, I led a small group of young people and their parents on a guided nature walk around Lugg Meadows. We heard a kingfisher, talked about how otters might be present in the river and watched a red kite circling nearby. As a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), this section of the River Lugg is protected for its importance for biodiversity.
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This post is by Hatti Owens, Client Earth lawyer. It was originally published on Business Green.
After a delay of over six months, the Environment Bill is finally back. Having just completed review by a committee of MPs in Parliament, we expect its enactment during the first part of next year.
But the Bill is soon to be finalised and problems remain that must be urgently addressed.
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