“DEFRA has been in hibernation” Nature charities sound wake-up call for UK to meet global environmental targets - Wildlife & Countryside Link

• Progress tracker shows a step change in Government action is needed to meet global nature commitments in the Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed last year at COP15 under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
• Progress is stalling or going backwards in areas including habitat restoration, sustainable agriculture, climate change action, invasive species management and marine conservation.
• Experts call for rapid investment in creating and restoring wildlife habitats, an end to destructive industry in marine protected areas, and rapid investment in natural solutions to pollution.

A year on from a global pledge to halt the decline of nature by 2030, signed by the UK at COP15, nature groups are warning that the UK risks missing the targets.
Led by coalition group Wildlife and Countryside Link, the organisations (including RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust) have released a progress tracker on how Westminster is doing on getting building blocks in place for nature restoration since the conclusion of COP15. The report assesses progress in England of policies to deliver the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed by the UK in 2022 at COP15 in Montreal.
23 targets were agreed with a deadline of 2030. The analysis shows that out of 18 targets assessed, none are currently on track. Seven of the targets are ranked “yellow” denoting some progress with action still required, with the remaining 11 all ranked “red” or “dark red”, meaning that progress has either stalled or is going backwards. The full report can be found here.