Thank you for contacting me about the Government’s commitments to nature, wildlife and climate change.
I would like to assure you that claims that the Government is rowing back on commitments to nature are wholly untrue.
I am aware that the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said in his speech to the Conservative Party Conference that the Government will cut through the red tape that has held back our farms for too long. Ministers recognise that some farming rules and regulations have not done what they set out to do.
We have a huge opportunity to farm our land in a balanced way that supports food production and biodiversity. We must continue on the path that helps our wildlife flourish, our soil become healthy, and our landscape safeguarded for future generations as well as meeting the demands of the British public.
The purpose of speeding up the planning system in defined Investment Zone areas is to remove burdensome EU requirements which create paperwork and stall development but do not necessarily protect the environment. I understand from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities that key planning policies which ensure developments protect our precious natural heritage and maintain national policy on Green Belt will continue to apply.
Further, the Environment Act 2021 includes a commitment to halt the decline of nature by 2030. This Government will never undermine its commitments to the environment. Any reforms will rightly contribute to growing our economy in equal step with successfully meeting our commitments in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the legally binding environmental targets through this Act.
Internationally, the UK has committed to protect 30 per cent of its land and ocean by 2030, through the Leaders Pledge for Nature, which committed to putting nature and biodiversity globally on a road to recovery by 2030.