UK Government outlines ambitions to tackle nature and climate crisis

This week, UK Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband delivered a State of Climate and Nature Statement pledging the Government’s commitment to tackle the joint nature and climate crisis and urging the UK to be “a county of climate and nature leadership”.

Addressing the House of Commons on Wednesday 14 July, Miliband stressed the need to, “Reduce emissions, protect and restore nature, and adapt to the impacts now inevitable (from climate change),” and pledged to put climate resilience at the heart of government decision-making.   

While we very much welcome these ambitions, we now need to see the UK Government act swiftly and at scale to bring about the change we so desperately need to see.

A Met Office-led report, State of the UK Climate, cited by Miliband in his statement, is stark in its conclusions. It warns that the UK is firmly in the grip of the climate crisis, with extreme weather the norm and the impacts on health, infrastructure and the functioning of society of “profound concern”.

Climate change is the greatest long-term threat to nature and people that we face, and we have long argued for an approach that recognises the interplay between nature and the climate. Already, the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with one in six species at risk of extinction in Great Britain.

Yet nature also has the power to help us tackle climate change. By working in harmony with nature, through nature-based solutions, such as woodland reforestation or peatland restoration, we can create the habitats our wildlife needs and take steps to mitigate against climate change at the same time.

We are hopeful that Ed Miliband’s statement marks a turnaround in Government rhetoric, and a move away from a divisive approach which has often pitted economic growth against protecting the natural world.  

Yet we remain deeply concerned. The statement comes in the wake of a report into the UK’s progress towards goals to stop the decline of nature and clean up the air and water in England. From our analysis of the Environmental Improvement Plan Annual Progress Report 2024-2025 (EIP) published on 14 July, it is clear that without more action, at a greater scale and pace, the targets will be missed.  

While the UK Government has taken some steps to help restore nature over the past year, with over 10 million trees planted and new National Nature Reserves declared, it’s not enough. Progress remains too slow, and nature continues to decline.

Thanks to our science, we know what needs to be done. In many instances, we know what actions to take to reverse declines in nature. At RSPB Hope Farm, for example, we run a successful farming business, while also boosting wildlife. But to replicate this across the landscape and all sectors, we need policies and investment which empower everyone to act.

The commitment shown by Ed Miliband in the State of Climate and Nature Statement is a vital, welcome shift for a healthier, more resilient future for all. But only if these words are matched with action.

RSPB Director of Conservation Katie-jo Luxton said:

“We are pleased to see the UK Government is acknowledging that we are in a nature and climate emergency, and that we must tackle both wildlife decline and climate change together.

 “The publication of the Environmental Improvement Plan progress report is a timely reminder of the scale of the challenge and the need for urgent action to halt and reverse wildlife declines. We need all government policy across every department to commit to supporting the UK’s efforts to achieve the goals of the Climate Change Act and Environment Act along with our international commitments.

 “We need actions from politicians today that acknowledge our wildlife is vanishing and our seasons are changing, and that this is affecting every aspect of life from our health to the economy. The UK Government cannot afford to delay acting."