Clean air and wildlife targets unveiled – but face criticism from campaigners

The Environment Department (Defra) has set out a series of proposed legally binding long-term green targets.
Traffic of the A205 South Circular road in Lewisham (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
PA Archive
Emily Beament16 March 2022

Targets to cut air and water pollution and waste, halt declines in species and boost tree planting have been unveiled – but campaigners say they do not go far or fast enough.

The Environment Department (Defra) has set out a series of proposed legally binding long-term green targets as part of the post-Brexit Environment Act to protect England’s air, water, resources and nature.

They include targets to curb annual average levels of fine particulate matter at PM2.5 to 10 micrograms per cubic metre across England by 2040, double the World Health Organisation’s new guideline limits, and to reduce exposure to the dangerous pollutant by a more than a third compared to 2018 levels.

The targets faced immediate criticism, including by Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, whose nine-year-old daughter Ella suffered a fatal asthma attack following exposure to dangerous air pollution.

She said: “I feel incredibly let down by the new air pollution targets suggested by the Government.

“These new guidelines mean children will continue to die. Since my daughter passed away nine years ago, the number of children dying from asthma hasn’t gone down, and these targets aren’t going to change that.”

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah and Professor Sir Chris Whitty at a Clean Air and Health Summit (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
PA Wire

Katie Nield, a lawyer at environmental law charity ClientEarth, said: “The target date that the UK Government is proposing is far from ‘world-leading’.

“It means that another generation of children will be exposed to toxic pollution far above what the world’s top scientists think is acceptable. Ministers need to seriously reconsider their proposal.”

There is also a target to halt declines in species abundance by 2030 and boost wildlife by 10% on that level by 2042, covering 1,000 species including farmland birds, bats, butterflies, moths, freshwater invertebrates, and plants.

Under the goals, which are being put out for consultation,  agricultural pollution into rivers, lakes and wetlands must be reduced by at least 40% by 2037 compared to 2018, and phosphorus from treated wastewater must be cut 80% by 2037 compared to 2020.

There is a target to create or restore more than 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of wildlife-rich habitat outside existing protected areas on land and to ensure 70% of marine conservation sites are in a favourable condition by 2042.

And total tree canopy and woodland cover, including trees in woods, hedgerows, orchards, fields and urban areas, should increase from 14.5% to 17.5% of total land area in England by 2050, which will add more than a million acres (420,000 hectares) of woods.

There are proposals to set targets to halve the waste that ends up in landfill or incineration per person by 2042 compared to 2019 levels, and cut water use by 20% per head by 2037.

Alongside the targets, there are new proposals in a nature recovery green paper, including changes to how protected sites are designated and looked after.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said:  “These proposed targets are intended to set a clear, long-term plan for nature’s recovery.

“In a post-EU era, we now have the freedom to move towards a system that focuses on nature’s recovery as well as its preservation, and which places more emphasis on science and less emphasis on legal process.

“This change in approach will help us in the pursuit of the targets we are setting under the Environment Act.”

The Government must raise its sights on today’s proposals or fall far short of the aim of restoring our environment

Richard Benwell, Wildlife and Countryside Link

But campaigners were quick to warn that many of the targets will fall short of what is needed to improve the environment.

Dr Richard Benwell, chief executive of the Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of environment organisations, said: “We fully support the Government’s world-leading target to halt the decline of wildlife by 2030, which we campaigned for in the Environment Act.

“But the Government must raise its sights on today’s proposals or fall far short of the aim of restoring our environment. We can’t afford to take 20 years to stand still on nature’s recovery.”

There are targets for increasing tree canopy and woodland cover (Emily Beament/PA)

Kate Norgrove, executive director of advocacy and campaigns at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said: “Not only do we need to see increased ambition from the UK Government when it comes to setting key targets, but – to make real progress – targets must be matched by bold action.

“All of Government must prepare to go further, faster to protect and restore England’s precious habitats and to slash the UK’s global environmental footprint.”

And Abi Bunker, director of conservation and external affairs at the Woodland Trust, said setting a target to increase tree cover must measure more than acres of new forest.

“We support the Government’s plans to include trees in parks, on farms and in streets in their target, too. But to really boost nature it needs to be part of a broader package that halts biodiversity loss and supports nature recovery.

“We need a specific target for more native woods and trees, which we know can best contribute to healthy nature-rich habitats and deliver the positive environmental outcomes which we need and which the Government has pledged.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in