Four actions the Chancellor must take in the Autumn Budget

There has been much press coverage recently on the fiscal challenges facing the new Chancellor John Healey. Higher inflation as a consequence of conflict in the Middle East, increased public debt servicing costs and pressures on public spending from defence and other priorities all add to the pressure on public finances. In many ways, the new Chancellor faces the same fiscal headache as his predecessors.  

This would be a good time for the Chancellor to pay a visit to RSPB Dearne Valley Old Moor nature reserve which is not far from his Yorkshire constituency. The health benefits of spending time in nature are well known and this would give him the chance to recharge his batteries before the Budget on 28 October.

It would also be a good time for the Chancellor to reflect on the findings of new research commissioned by the RSPB and undertaken by eftec this year.  

The  report on the economic case for nature, shows that correcting our historic underinvestment in nature and investing £5-6 billion a year in nature recovery would over 10 years: 

• support £80 billion of new economic output, helping to generate new economic growth. 

• deliver 80,000 long term, skilled and productive jobs, many of which would be based in local rural communities with lower employment opportunities.  

• bring significant additional economic value through wider benefits such as enhanced public health and mitigation of climate change, which could amount to up to £1 trillion in value to society. 

The evidence suggests that nature recovery investment can generate stronger economic impacts than other forms of investment like solar farms, offshore wind projects or sectors such as agriculture, fishing and aquaculture.  

At the same time, it has the potential to reduce our economic and national security risks by contributing to climate mitigation, adaptation and food security. 

There are further potential economic opportunities from UK leadership in nature recovery given we have world leading academic institutions, NGOs, and knowledge-based clusters.  

There are also new export prospects for the sectors associated with nature recovery and the 900 UK nature-related business which employ over 20,000 people. The UK can also position itself as a global centre for nature finance through its knowledge and skills base and London’s position at the top of the Global Green Finance Index. 

The economic benefits from nature are just as relevant at the local level and nature has the unique ability to improve wellbeing in every postcode and deliver benefits across the country, in urban and rural locations. 

The Chancellor’s ambition to make Great Britain, Growth Britain can only be sustainable if it recognises the vital role nature plays and includes the necessary investment in nature recovery. Without it, we risk an economic crisis on the scale of that from the global financial crisis and Covid 19.

To ensure nature works best for people and communities it needs to be fully embedded in economic decision-making. There are four immediate policy changes we would like to see in this Budget to achieve this: 

1. A new plan for Green Finance in the UK which must have the rigour and detail to ensure that public and private finance will combine to address the nature finance gap in a timely fashion. 

2. The Office for Budget Responsibility tasked with assessing the economic and fiscal risks from nature’s degradation at every fiscal event, so that it is no longer sidelined in decision making. 

3. Reform of the fiscal framework to put nature on an equal footing with other assets and allowing borrowing to invest in nature and climate. 

4. An independent review of environmentally harmful taxes and subsidies in the UK that brings forward recommendations for reform to deliver fiscal savings and a more supportive policy for nature and climate. 

These actions would also be incredibly timely given Armenia is hosting the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity between October 19-30, where finance for biodiversity will be high on the agenda.  

The Autumn Budget provides a unique opportunity for the Chancellor to show how it should be done.