My View: Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Trends

I appreciate and share the concerns of everyone who contacted me about climate change and ecosystem degradation and recognise that we are already seeing some of their impacts here in the UK, such as through more frequent flooding and extreme weather.

Our Government’s recent national security assessment on global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse underlines the seriousness of the risks you highlight. The findings make clear that environmental degradation is not only an ecological issue, but a national security challenge, with implications for food systems, global stability, health, and the economy. I can assure you that our Government takes these warnings extremely seriously.

As the assessment rightly sets out, meeting our commitments under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is essential, and our Government is already acting on this at home and abroad. This includes major investment in sustainable farming, large-scale peatland and woodland restoration, protection of pollinators, improvements to water quality and landmark legislation to safeguard our oceans. Internationally, the UK continues to invest in forest and ocean protection and supporting more sustainable global food and land‑use systems.

I welcome that our Government committed to taking forward many of the principles behind the Climate and Nature Bill. Following engagement with its sponsors, our Government have agreed to deliver an annual climate and nature statement to Parliament, strengthen nature recovery efforts, deepen public participation, and improve coordination between key advisory bodies. Our Government delivered the first of these statements on climate and nature last year, setting out these and further actions – such as developing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, expanding Local Nature Recovery Strategies, and making record investments in clean energy and nature restoration.

Adaptation is a crucial part of this response. The impacts of climate change are already with us, and we need to strengthen resilience across the country. Our Government has made progress on adaptation, taking key actions across a range of policy areas. Importantly, it has committed £7.9 billion over ten years to the largest flooding programme in our history to better protect homes, businesses, and local infrastructure. But I recognise further action is needed to meet the scale of the challenge and I welcome that our Government is committed to an ambitious and impactful fourth National Adaptation Programme, due in 2028.

I can assure you that I will continue to support action to tackle the twin challenges of climate change and nature loss, and to ensure our community is protected from the risks they pose.