Government still off track for meeting environmental obligations, watchdog finds

The Government "must act urgently and decisively to catch up if it is to meet its legal obligations" under the Environment Act 2021, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has warned.

OEP chair Dame Glenys Stacey said at the launch of its report on progress in improving the natural environment in England 2023/24 that its annual progress report "is a worrying read" after the report found the Government is off track for meeting five legally binding targets.  

The environmental watchdog's report, published today (16 January), provides an assessment of progress towards legally binding environment targets, commitments and goals (including those in the statutory Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP)).

"Of the 13 Environment Act targets, our assessment of prospects is that government is largely on track for meeting three, partially on track for four and largely off track for five", the report said.

According to the report, the prospect of meeting one target could not be assessed.

Its assessment of the prospects of meeting 43 'individual targets and commitments' concluded that the Government is largely on track towards meeting nine, partially on track towards meeting 12 and largely off track towards meeting 20.

The prospects of meeting two targets could not be assessed due to a lack of sufficient evidence.

For 10 'goal areas', the OEP said the Government is partially on track for three goals but largely off track in the remaining seven areas.

The report's assessment of progress covers the annual reporting period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

The OEP concluded that while there have been some areas of improvement, "very substantial challenges" remain, with less progress being made overall compared to the previous 12 months.

"The Government remains largely off track to meet its targets and commitments", the report added.

It continued: "This is in large part because the scale and pace of the effort being applied is not sufficient to match the Government's stated ambitions or to meet environmental targets established in law.

"Prospects, however, are not fixed, and the current government has the opportunity to get progress back on track."

Dame Glenys Stacey, the OEP's Chair, said: "Once again, our annual EIP progress report is a worrying read.

"This Government must act urgently and decisively to catch up, if it is to meet its legal obligations. Catch up not just by developing plans, but then by fully and effectively  implementing them.

"It has several legally-binding commitments only a few years away. The window of opportunity is closing fast."   

Dame Glenys meanwhile welcomed the Government's recent decision to carry out a rapid review of the EIP. 

She said: "The new EIP must go beyond existing policies and actions, with realistic and determined delivery plans to make achieving these imperative targets and commitments a reality."

A Defra spokesperson said: “After years of failure, nature across Britain is suffering. The report is absolutely right to point out that the window to fix it is closing.

“This is why the government is taking urgent action to put nature on the road to recovery which has been welcomed by the OEP.”

Adam Carey