Protecting our natural environment for generations to come, that’s the promise the government makes for its environment bill, the aim of which, presumably, is to deliver on Boris Johnson’s pledge to make Britain “the cleanest, greenest [country] on Earth, with the most far-reaching environmental programme”.
But Johnson has handed the bill to minister George Eustice, who has previously dismissed EU environmental protection laws as “spirit crushing” and bragged of the opportunity post-Brexit to develop a more flexible approach to environmental regulation.
“Environmental principles which, under the EU, had the force of law are now being reduced to a “nice to have”.”
Two conflicting messages and now we know which one has won. The environment bill is so riddled with holes that I fear we face years of backsliding with nature becoming a distant after-thought.
It’s easy to take for granted the progress that has been made in past decades. Britain was once notorious as the “dirty man of Europe” with polluted air, raw sewage pumped into the sea and protected sites being lost at a terrifying rate.
EU laws and the threat of fines changed much of that. Our environment is still under extreme stress, with nature in retreat and wildlife being driven to the brink of extinction. But without EU laws, it could have been far worse.
What we are now getting in place of EU laws is a bill which waters down most of the obligations, oversight and enforcement, which protect our environment. Rather than “the most far-reaching environmental programme”, key safeguards are being dumped or quietly buried.
Environmental principles which, under the EU, had the force of law are now being reduced to a “nice to have”. Where once it was “must be applied”, now it is “must be considered”. Where once all public bodies had to comply, now it’s only ministers.
Then there is enforcement. The supposedly “world leading” watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection, is a pale shadow of its EU equivalent and will be largely under the thumb of the Secretary of State over its budget and appointments. This is not a watchdog – it’s a poodle, on a government-controlled leash.
With the government’s threats against the judiciary and independence of the courts, I worry for the future of the proposed environmental tribunals too.
Leaving aside the deep flaws of this legislation, if we are to truly turn around our relationship with nature, we should not leave it to an environment bill. The responsibility for nature, wildlife and the environment cannot be left at Defra’s door, it has to be a focus for all government departments, starting with the Treasury.
This government chooses to believe that it’s possible to pursue endless economic growth without adverse environmental impacts. Unfortunately, there is little evidence for this. The European Environmental Bureau reported last year that “green growth cannot reduce resource use on anywhere near the scale required to deal with global environmental breakdown”.
Addressing the climate and biodiversity crises requires us to radically change our economic models, moving away from economic growth as the over-riding measure of progress and moving instead towards improving health and wellbeing for people and nature.
That means a different economic model taking us towards a sustainable economy. An environment bill that recognised that as the ultimate objective really would be worthy of the name.
Caroline Lucas is MP for Brighton Pavilion.