Ambitious roadmap for a cleaner, greener country

The big news today is the release of the Government's Environmental Improvement Plan

Ambitious roadmap for a cleaner, greener country - Defra, Natural England, Forestry Commission

Five-year delivery plan to restore nature and improve the environmental quality of the air, our waters and our land 

Plans to restore nature, improve environmental quality, and increase the prosperity of our country will be set out by the government today (Tuesday 31st January) as it publishes its Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.

Building on the vision set out five years ago in the 25 Year Environment Plan, with new powers and duties from the Environment Act, Agriculture Act and Fisheries Act, it provides a comprehensive delivery plan for the government’s approach to halting and then reversing the decline in nature.

This was the central target agreed in the new global deal for nature at the UN Nature Summit COP15 in December, which UK leadership helped deliver. The plan published today underpins that ambition domestically, with progress measured against stretching interim targets.

It will be unveiled by the Environment Secretary Dr Thérèse Coffey at a keynote speech this morning.

It covers how government will:

Create and restore at least 500,000 hectares of new wildlife habitats, starting with 70 new wildlife projects including 25 new or expanded National Nature Reserves and 19 further Nature Recovery Projects
Deliver a clean and plentiful supply of water for people and nature into the future, by tackling leaks, publishing a roadmap to boost household water efficiency, and enabling greater sources of supply
Challenge councils to improve air quality more quickly and tackle key hotspots.
Transform the management of 70% of our countryside by incentivising farmers to adopt nature-friendly practices.
Boost green growth and create new jobs – from foresters and farmers to roles in green finance and research and development.

The public will also benefit from a new commitment to access green space or water within a 15-minute walk from their home, such as woodlands, wetlands, parks and rivers.