New legally binding environment targets set out

New legally binding environment targets set out - Defra

Targets to protect our environment, clean up our air and rivers and boost nature have been published.

Legally binding targets to protect our environment, clean up our air and rivers and boost nature have been published today (Friday 16 December) following extensive consultation as part of the government’s commitment to leave the environment in a better state for future generations.

Together they will drive forward action to tackle climate change, restore our natural capital and protect our much-loved landscapes and green spaces.

The Government will publish its Environmental Improvement Plan in January 2023 setting out in more detail how we will achieve these targets, including interim targets.

Publication of the targets today follows three years of detailed consideration of the scientific and economic evidence, which was published in March 2022, to inform draft targets. A comprehensive consultation on these was run earlier this year which saw over 180,000 responses from a range of individuals, businesses and other organisations.

Sitting at the heart of the government’s Environment Act, the targets require us to:

Halt the decline in species populations by 2030, and then increase populations by at least 10% to exceed current levels by 2042
Restore precious water bodies to their natural state by cracking down on harmful pollution from sewers and abandoned mines and improving water usage in households
Deliver our net zero ambitions and boost nature recovery by increasing tree and woodland cover to 16.5% of total land area in England by 2050
Halve the waste per person that is sent to residual treatment by 2042
Cut exposure to the most harmful air pollutant to human health – PM2.5
Restore 70% of designated features in our Marine Protected Areas to a favourable condition by 2042, with the rest in a recovering condition.

Our world-leading target to halt the decline in species abundance will be followed by a target to reverse that decline, alongside a further target to reduce the risk of species extinction. This will be supported by our target to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, which will also help the UK to meet its international commitment to protect 30% of its land and ocean by 2030.

Targets to cut harmful pollution reaching our rivers will help achieve our ambition for more water bodies to be in their natural state, with an 80% cut in total phosphorus pollution from wastewater treatments by 2038 helping to safeguard our waterways.