Environment Secretary’s Address on Progress of the 25-Year Environment Strategy

First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to you, Matthew, for hosting us today. I’m also deeply thankful to the Prime Minister. Contrary to what some may think, he is keenly interested in our natural world. I remember my early days at Defra as an environment minister when he was involved in local government; we collaborated on the litter strategy, recognizing its impact on people’s lives and their respect for the environment. His backing for initiatives like the Local Nature Recovery Strategies highlights his commitment, especially given his representation of one of the country’s most rural constituencies. It’s crucial to recall his remarks in Egypt last year about climate action — that tackling climate change goes hand in hand with restoring nature.

I want to reassure everyone that this remains the government’s environmental improvement agenda, and we continue to progress in that area. Reflecting on just six months ago, during chilly January, the sun greeted us at the inspiring Camley Street Natural Park in London as I launched that plan. Now, here we are today in one of the most breathtaking sections of our capital. As Matthew pointed out, this isn’t just a venue for visitors; it consistently engages with nature on a global scale. This emphasizes the importance of Defra’s work in partnership throughout the UK, Europe, and beyond — vital for our future.

Defra is central to our mission, and I want to acknowledge our Defra family. Today, we have a diverse group of stakeholders here: bird enthusiasts, farmers, and wildlife caretakers — all integral to the tapestry of our vision to ensure that as a Conservative government, we leave the environment in a better condition than we found it. I’ve served as a Member of Parliament for thirteen years now and this is my second term at Defra. My experience representing Suffolk Coastal has been invaluable, as that area is renowned for its farming and rich habitats both on land and in the sea. My love for coastal ecosystems has only deepened. Coming back to Parliament, I’m eager to advance our work with the blue planet fund and what we can achieve domestically.

This progress is evident in various ways, such as the formal designation of our first three highly protected marine areas, which will benefit fish conservation and protect precious environments. This interplay among nature, seagrass, seahorse conservation, and marine zones plays a significant role in safeguarding our planet. Anyone who knows me recognizes my passion for mangroves, though it’s unfortunate we lack them here. I’m dedicated to supporting their conservation globally. Recently, I’ve focused on ways to stimulate our salt marshes, akin to mangroves, and I hope we can further develop this. Since 2016, I’ve gained insight into these efforts, starting with the CITES conference in Johannesburg and witnessing various initiatives firsthand. This is essential to our Environmental Improvement Plan and entails collaborating with communities to foster cooperation.

We must enhance the synergy of our Environmental Land Management Schemes, involving local communities and farmers — the original Friends of the Earth — to ensure this relationship thrives. While we see this in the UK, it’s equally vital in our international efforts. Addressing illegal wildlife trade globally has been a key priority, alongside improving air quality, using our finite natural resources sustainably, addressing waste, flood management, and more. We’ve laid out a vision in our 25 Year Environment Plan and are releasing our final progress report on that today. In one of my early speeches as Environment Secretary, I emphasized that nature would no longer be the Cinderella of our larger environmental narrative. It has never been more evident that our economic prosperity, food security, and well-being depend on nature. It’s the backbone of our communities, and we are committed to enhancing it. Despite challenges when I entered the department—particularly regarding meeting legal requirements—I’m proud of our achievements in improving the environment and hitting legal deadlines, propelled by three significant legislative frameworks after Brexit.

These include the Agriculture Act, the Fisheries Act, and the groundbreaking Environment Act. We should take pride in the UK’s progress over the past six months since unveiling our Environmental Improvement Plan, collaborating closely with many of you as our partners. I know you want to expand your efforts, and I’m eager for us to work together on that. Over the last decade, we’ve seen remarkable improvements: plastic packaging recycling has risen nearly twenty percentage points, annual sales of single-use plastic bags have dropped by 1.62 billion since 2016 — a 77% reduction — with more bans on littered items coming soon. In terms of air quality, we’ve noted a 73% decrease in sulphur dioxide emissions since 2010, and our new plan outlines the next steps for tackling pollutants. In the past seven years, we’ve enhanced over ten thousand miles of rivers, with beloved species like seals returning to our estuaries. Cadmium and mercury levels in our waters have dropped significantly, with phosphorus down 80% and ammonia by 85% since 1990, when water companies were privatized. The largest environmental infrastructure investment from the water sector will now enhance efforts for protected nature sites under the new Plan for Water, ensuring that polluters are held accountable while providing clean and plentiful water for people, farmers, and wildlife alike. Since 2010, we’ve created and restored over a quarter of a million hectares of priority habitats — an area the size of Dorset — with 28% of the UK now designated as protected.

Beyond designated sites, we’re allocating £268 million to habitat creation and restoration in the last financial year. Conservation efforts are now mandatory for all new developments as we construct homes nationwide. In the last planting season, we achieved a record of over three thousand hectares under canopy — around four million new trees, a 40% increase from the previous year. We will also expand the public forest estate to provide more woodland, and it’s wonderful to see William Worsley here today.

A few weeks ago, I was thrilled to announce the new £25 million Species Survival Fund, supporting thousands of amazing species like water voles and lapwings by restoring habitats like grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands. Forty-eight local authorities are now receiving funding to collaborate closely with communities, landowners, and experts. These recovery strategies will identify areas where our initiatives can make the most significant impact. Already, our initiatives have bolstered over 450 species, with a fivefold increase in funding to £10 million annually for Natural England’s dedicated program. For the first time, the new duty on public authorities embeds nature at the heart of governmental decision-making for the long term, guided by our defined environmental principles.

While we focus on domestic efforts, we also play an essential role globally. Our renowned Darwin Programmes have supported species and communities such as pangolins, snow leopards, St. Helena’s rare Cloud Forest, and critical seabird colonies across 140 countries since 1992. The £100 million Biodiverse Landscapes Fund engages with some of the world’s most vital biomes, from the Lower Mekong to the Kavango Zambezi, where five countries collaborate across the river basin. In the last decade, we’ve established over one hundred marine protected areas, totaling 178 MPAs that cover 40% of English waters. I also mentioned our three new highly protected marine areas. Coupled with the blue belts that safeguard ocean areas larger than India across the UK overseas territories, from the South Sandwich Islands to Tristan da Cunha, we are pouring our knowledge and experience into the Blue Planet Fund. This includes supporting cross-boundary collaborations that protect over 500 square kilometers of the eastern tropical Pacific, which first garnered attention at COP26 in Glasgow, thanks to a historic partnership involving Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Costa Rica.

I had the honor of leading the UK delegation at the Montreal conference, where our exceptional UK team helped finalize a new global nature agreement. We will continue to co-lead efforts, ensuring that this isn’t just about the global north dictating to the south, which holds much more biodiversity. It’s about fostering global aspirations to secure the necessary actions and funding to realize our ambitions globally. Our global summit at Lancaster House, the kind reception from the King at Buckingham Palace, collaborations with the financial sector, and our joint initiative with France on high-integrity biodiversity credit markets at President Macron’s recent summit all exemplify our commitment. I challenge anyone to find a nation that has accomplished as much as we have on both domestic and international fronts.

It’s crucial that we maintain this momentum. While thoughts may shift towards the election next year, our focus should remain fixed on long-term goals. That’s why our updated 25-Year Environmental Plan is fundamental. As previously discussed, biodiversity net gain will be implemented by November, ensuring that every development contributes 10% more to nature.

Recently, Defra ministers have not only been visiting zoos and other attractions; we’ve been engaging with the agricultural community across the country. And while Trudy, Rebecca, and I have enjoyed seeing a baby sloth and Sumatran tigers, our colleagues Lord Benyon and Minister Spencer are immersed in parliamentary activities, perhaps envious of our experiences. We’ve been speaking with farmers, recognizing that the transition we are experiencing with Environmental Land Management schemes is significant and must succeed. Farmers trust other farmers, which is why it’s wonderful that three of our ministers are farmers, and the rest of us represent very rural constituencies. We understand these communities and the decisions they must make.

It’s essential that we listen to those who manage 70% of our land, ensuring our collaboration benefits nature. If we don’t, we risk harming it, which we cannot allow. Groundswell used to be the Woodstock or Glastonbury of farming, but now it has gained mainstream attention, which is fantastic. We want our endeavors to be mainstream, and we aim to engage more farmers as we move forward. You will appreciate Countryside Stewardship Plus when we release the details later this year, along with additional landscape recovery initiatives and more grants and partnerships that will bring innovative technologies from labs into the fields where farmers can truly test them.

However, the core focus will always be food production. The health and welfare of the animals they raise must remain paramount, as well as the natural environment that sustains both them and us. We will continue with our necessary work to implement due diligence on forest risk commodities, safeguarding global forests, while we publish our map and framework for our 30 by 30 commitment. We will also share more about our plans for restoring crucial blue habitats. I’m passionate about this and will participate in the G20 next week in India, where I will visit the world’s second-largest mangrove forest. I’m incredibly excited about this prospect. Yet, we must maintain our momentum, heading to the UNGA, COP28, and the Global Environment Assembly, while next month will see the launch of the fund supporting the CBD. We will persist not only in considering our planet but in executing our Environmental Improvement Plan and the Plan for Water. We will not relent against those who harm our environments or pollute, and we are focused on driving improved performance from water companies — because we expect better, and the public does too.

There are numerous other accomplishments I could highlight, and I’m certain Matthew will ensure I cover everything. However, I want to emphasize that I am committed to investing in research and science, which is essential for understanding the measures we implement and their impacts. This isn’t about manipulating figures; it’s about securing a sustainable environment for future generations, especially with climate change materializing around us. With over 40 degrees just a hundred miles away in France while we face rain in July, we must adapt and remain agile. Nature itself adapts, and we need to maintain our focus on this precious Earth and the extraordinary individuals here who are ready to help us achieve our goals. Thank you very much.