The plunder of our seas by industrial fishing is a monstrosity in which almost everyone unwittingly collaborates. For decades this truth has been deliberately hidden from us. Now at last the consensus is cracking. This week's column. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The #PlanningBill needs far more than cosmetic change to ensure that, instead of harming nature, it delivers nature-positive development. So it's good to see the Minister recognise some top issues: legal certainty & scientific basis for offsite action. Now for amendments please.

Great plan. Please support whole-site bottom trawling bans in Marine Protected Areas in the consultation. There's a long way to go to protect 30% of land & sea for nature by 2030, but it can be done. We'll be reporting on progress in summer. This helps. observer.co.uk/news/oceans/...

Good to see LGA consult on new statutory environmental duties. Please respond in support of adding duties in the #PlanningBill to drive councils' contribution to Climate Change Act and Environment Act targets. Plus the resources to help them do it. www.local.gov.uk/about/campai...

A #PlanningBill that simplifies sustainable development *and* helps restore nature is a prize worth fighting for. And it's still within reach. We hope Government & Parliamentarians fix the weaknesses and make the Environmental Delivery Plan idea something we can all support.

🧵Planning reform that speeds up sustainable development *and* restores nature is worth fighting for. The #PlanningBill is currently one sided, weakening nature laws with scant benefit for biodiversity. But Ministers could get back on track for a win-win. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Very good consultation from @DefraGovUK, proposing to extend the burning ban on peatland. The proposal is to increase the designated area to cover Less Favoured Areas (currently just SSSIs that are also SACs/SPAs) & protect shallower peat. Please support! www.gov.uk/government/n...

Looking at the @mcsuk.bsky.social State of our Beaches report, this graph shows the great results of the plastic bag levy. Wouldn't it be great if the Spending Review were to introduce more #polluterpays approaches, especially for corporate polluters, with funds directed to restore nature?

Over 50 nature & farming groups have written to Rachel Reeves: without investment in nature-friendly farming, any hopes of sustainable food production, climate change mitigation, nature recovery & a resilient economy will be lost. www.express.co.uk/news/politic...

Here's our #PlanningBill Second Reading briefing to go with the blog: wcl.org.uk/docs/Plannin... We hope Parliamentarians and Government will work across parties to take this chance to make planning work for nature.

Last Parliament set targets. This Parliament is for delivery. Restoring nature needs major landowners to play a part. We proposed a Public Nature Estate, inspired by @guyshrubsole, @MarkAvery & more. @SteveReedMP has taken the 1st steps to make it real. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

BREAKING: DEFRA asks England’s biggest landowners to come up with plans to restore nature. The new National Estate for Nature is a bold move by Labour, summoning landowners who own a tenth of the country to report on their stewardship. With comment from me: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

New #PlanningBill blog: wcl.org.uk/planning-ref... The bill currently poses unacceptable risks to environmental law. But Environment & Housing Ministers say they want win-wins for nature & development. Their ideas could be made to work for nature. That's a prize worth fighting for.

Too often, environmental targets are announced with a shout, but die with a whimper. We welcome OEP's investigation, which will help uncover why action to clean up rivers was left until too late. Government's answer must be rapid public & private investment, enforcement & water system reform.

As talks on divisive deep sea mining resume, governments need to stand firm against the unacceptable pressure by an industry that risks wreaking irreparable damage on our ocean and exacerbating the planetary crisis www.france24.com/en/live-news...

Once again, over half of UK fisheries catch limits agreed for 2025 are above scientific advice. Just 36% were in line with a precautionary approach. Overfishing is bad for wildlife & self-defeating for the economy. Time to reduce & police catch limits and let the ocean recover.

The #ClimateChange Act and the #NetZero targets that followed must surely be among the UK's greatest contributions to international relations, future generations, and technological & environmental progress. Giving up now would be a tragedy. It would diminish us.

Leaky dams, ponds & tree planting are just some of the natural measures to curb flooding🌳 A new report from @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social has shown that for every £1 spent on these, there would be economic benefits of £10🪙 More investment is a no-brainer👇 www.independent.co.uk/climate-chan...

Sir Keir has misrepresented the impact of conservation on housing in Ebbsfleet. The majority of the homes are going ahead. The distinguished jumping spider isn’t even in the development area, but it is a precious habitat. Let's move beyond nature vs. growth - sustainable development benefits us all.

But all hope of a win-win for nature & development will be dashed if the Prime Minister keeps repeating nature vs economy misrepresentation. It's undermining his own Government's more considered work. First newts, then bats, now jumping spiders are *wrongly* blamed for delays in development.

Nature recovery & development can go hand-in-hand and Ministers have taken strides toward that approach. But the #PlanningBill must do much more to live up to the promise. Here are some of the major amendments we'll be proposing. We hope Government will accept them.🧵1/12

🦇 A new episode of our podcast BatChat is now out! In this noisy episode, we’re taking you to the heart of the Restore Nature Now march in London, where 60,000+ passionate individuals gathered on 22 June 2024, to demand stronger action for nature. Listen here: batchat.buzzsprout.com/680561/episo...

Government's answer to growing demand for nature-friendly farming should be to increase the budget, not to cut off contracts. SFI can be improved, but the Chancellor should use the Spending Review to invest in green farming practices as a vital foundation of sustainable growth.

🧵Previous attempts to speed up environment planning rules were deregulatory: ripping up rules defending rivers from pollution, habitat from destruction, wildlife from extinction. The #PlanningBill sets a new tone aiming for nature recovery & development. publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbi...

Principles like #polluterpays & the #precautionaryprinciple give a crucial perspective on how environmental enhancement must be integrated in policy-making across Govt. We support the OEP's recommendations for strengthening implementation of the #EnvironmentAct legal duty. bit.ly/3QzNabs

Please share your views! A chance to reshape corporate governance in the public interest; to drag regulation up-to-date with nature & health targets; and make catchment plans deliver with #polluterpays & incentives across sectors consult.defra.gov.uk/independent-... www.gov.uk/government/n...

It's out! The CCC recommends an 87% reduction in emissions by 2040 (compared to 1990 levels). Super interesting section on demand management! And an important recognition that action must ramp up quickly "on transport, buildings, industry and farming." www.theccc.org.uk/2025/02/26/e...

Overseas Development Assistance is an amazing way to help reduce poverty, climate change & nature loss. Programmes like the Darwin Initiative restore ecosystems for people & nature. They make the world safer. Today's huge cut in ODA to fund defence puts all that at risk.

Positive to see Defra reward ongoing environmental action from wildlife-friendly farmers today. Now, quick work is needed to multiply higher tier stewardship agreements - frozen for too long - dedicating more budget to drive this cutting edge of wildlife-friendly farming.

New data shows all bad news for England's priority wildlife habitats. ❌big drop in monitoring: Natural England needs funds to keep up ❌fall in favourable management in & outside SSSIs ❌fall in SSSIs in good condition: better incentives & enforcement urgent. 🧵1/3

We're intervening in a Supreme Court case today, this time in *support* of the Housing Department against developers in a key case for the future of river rules & the Habitats Regulations. For development & nature recovery to work together environmental assessment can't be reduced to a tick box.

Please don't forget to #ShowTheLove2025 with @TheCCoalition by emailing your MP to ask them to be a champion for environmental action in Parliament. www.theclimatecoalition.org/show-the-love

"In the face of the current wave of environmental backlash and net zero scaremongering, rejecting Rosebank is a golden opportunity for the UK to draw a line in the sand against the myths and misinformation" writes @carolinelucas.bsky.social in our latest blog. Read it now👉

There's a sad irony in the typo in this Government press release. Most people want to broker agreement, not disagreement. By falsely setting up bats & newts as the enemy of development, "brokering disagreements" is exactly what they're doing - with millions who care for nature.

As Biodiversity Net Gain approaches its 1st Birthday, how can Government boost it to its full potential?🌱 In our new blog, @richardbenwell.bsky.social sets out the need to up the ambition, close loopholes & increase local ecological capacity🏘️ Read more👇 www.wcl.org.uk/happy-birthd...

Been reading through the Government's new Land Use Consultation. Here's the juiciest bits I've seen so far! An excellent, bold proposal to spare 9% of England's least-productive land for nature & carbon - restoring peat bogs & regenerating woods - & changes to ag land use over a further 10% /1

I left Steve Reed's #LandUseFramework consultation launch feeling hopeful. For healthy food, green infrastructure *and* nature, it'll need: 🌎a legal link to planning & consenting 🌍rules to target incentives 🌏public interest in private land important for wildlife. www.gov.uk/government/s...

We brought a legal challenge against the last Government when it didn't review the Environment Plan after the OEP found that targets were likely to be missed. The new Government agreed to a review & the 1st stage is done. Now we need the policies to "speed up & scale up" action.

Chancellor @RachelReevesMP, millions of people are worried about #wildlife, even if some developers want to wash their hands of it. The best way to stop people worrying about chalk streams, dormice, wildflower meadows and, yes, bats isn't to deregulate. It's to #RestoreNatureNow.

The objectives of the Chancellor's Infrastructure Strategy all need nature. 💚Resilient growth 💚Net zero 💚Illness to prevention The Chancellor needs an investment programme, a project pipeline & priority projects for Critical Natural Infrastructure. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6793c6...

Genuinely baseless challenges shouldn't hold up projects like renewables development. In reality this rarely happens. Legal changes mustn't unfairly weigh the system against access to environmental justice when few delays come from troublesome claimants. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

In 2023-24, the UK was off-track in all its nature targets. Coming months are make or break for Government to meet its legal duty to halt nature decline by 2030. We need: 💚Investment in the Spending Review 💚Space & protection for wildlife in planning reform 💚X-sector polluter pays in water reform

Beavers: politically-neutral, environmentally-positive. Let's go for it! #RiversNeedBeavers beavertrust.org/wp-content/u...

The Water Restoration Fund is a great way to ensure water company fines help restore nature. Government is resisting putting the Fund in law & the first £11m hasn't been paid, leaving projects in limbo. If not in law, will the Government secure this vital fund in the Budget?

Will the Nature Restoration Fund help or harm? 🌱 In this new blog, @richardbenwell.bsky.social unpacks how the UK’s planning reforms could shape a better future for wildlife—if done right. 🦋 greenallianceblog.org.uk/2025/01/14/c...

A tale of two headlines based on the same press release. The reality, of course, is that the National Trust’s nature restoration efforts will bolster good farming, by “improving the health of enough soil to provide habitat for 1 billion earthworms.”

When nature targets are missed, Governments shrug shoulders & move on. Like the 2020 goal for healthy UK seas. Since then, positive steps on fishing have been delayed & there's no credible plan for marine wildlife. The OEP's investigation will help ensure that nature targets aren't just forgotten.

At our General Election hustings the Shadow Nature Minister said the Labour Party would "stop destructive bottom trawling" in Marine Protected Areas as "one of our first measures". Now the previous government's deadline has passed, we need quick work from Defra to protect UK seas & restore wildlife

Our Marine Protected Area network is big, but it's not strong. Just 44% of protected species & habitats are in good condition. The Environmental Improvement Plan promised byelaws to stop harmful fisheries in 2024, but only 60% are done. Defra must get back on track quickly.

Although it's new, BNG needs urgent review. The weaknesses are ones we flagged from the outset: 🏡Enforcement is failing so promised gains never appear. 🏠The 10% gain requirement isn't enough to contribute to nature recovery 🏘️Huge loopholes leave many developments exempt.