Rebecca Pow MP on government's plans to improve the environment

Yesterday (January 30) the MP and Environment Minister, was in Wellington at the Blue Pantry, an eco-friendly grocery shop that promotes a waste-free approach, ahead of the Government's announcement of its Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.

She said: “The Environmental Improvement Plan is the update of the 25 years environmental plan.

"It will set out the environmental targets that will drive the action to get to the targets – restoring nature, reducing air pollution, cleaning up the waters, and reducing waste.

“If we take waste as an example, the plan being announced today will, by 2028, drive us to reduce our personal waste per person by 26 per cent.

“We will also work on all the other plans being introduced already, for example, reducing single-use plastic.

“This will help Somerset by setting targets and encouraging businesses and companies to invest in the right kind of facilities.

MP Rebecca Pow (Image: Newsquest)

“This shop is all about cutting out single-use plastic. We are setting targets to cut the amount of plastic. We are also cutting the use of metal and glass.

“We are trying to cut by 10 per cent by 2025.

“We are trying to make much better use of the products and use it much longer while encouraging businesses to be able to get hold of these products.

“We are trying to set the right kind of targets so we can hit them and send the right signals to businesses so they can invest in the right recycling facilities because we have given them the signal.”

Gary Todd, the owner of the shop, said the shop was “flying” before Covid, but Brexit and energy bills made the business “struggle” and said small businesses “need a bit of support”.

Mr Todd, however, also said: “We have been here five years and it took a lot of encouragement but now the shop is busy. I made quite a difference in Wellington and people are willing to get involved in recycling.”

Blue Pantry owner Gary Todd (Image: Newsquest)

Building on the vision set out five years ago in the 25-Year Environment Plan, with new powers and duties from the Environment Act, Agriculture Act, and Fisheries Act, it provides a comprehensive delivery plan for the government’s approach to halting and then reversing the decline in nature.

This was the central target agreed in the new global deal for nature at the UN Nature Summit COP15 in December, which UK leadership helped deliver.

The plan published today underpins that ambition domestically, with progress measured against stretching interim targets.

It will be unveiled by the Environment Secretary Dr Thérèse Coffey at a keynote speech this morning.

It covers how the Government will:

• Create and restore at least 500,000 hectares of new wildlife habitats, starting with 70 new wildlife projects including 25 new or expanded National Nature Reserves and 19 further Nature Recovery Projects

• Deliver a clean and plentiful supply of water for people and nature into the future, by tackling leaks, publishing a roadmap to boost household water efficiency, and enabling greater sources of supply

• Challenge councils to improve air quality more quickly and tackle key hotspots.

• Transform the management of 70 per cent of our countryside by incentivising farmers to adopt nature-friendly practices.

• Boost green growth and create new jobs – from foresters and farmers to roles in green finance and research and development.

The public will also benefit from a new commitment to access green space or water within a 15-minute walk from their home, such as woodlands, wetlands, parks, and rivers.

Other new commitments set out today include:

Nature:

• A multi-million pound Species Survival Fund to protect our rarest species – from hedgehogs to red squirrels.

• Through the support of government schemes 65 to 80 per cent of landowners and farmers will adopt nature-friendly farming practices on at least 10 to 15 per cent of their land by 2030.

They will also be supported to create or restore 30,000 miles of hedgerows a year by 2037 and 45,000 miles of hedgerows a year by 2050.

Water:

• Setting out 10 actions we are taking on water efficiency in new developments and retrofits, including reviewing building regulations and other legislation to address leaky loos and confusing dual flush buttons and to enable new water-efficient technologies

• Restoring 400 miles of river through the first round of Landscape Recovery projects and establishing 3,000 hectares of new woodlands along England’s rivers.

• Reforming the current regulatory framework to rationalise the number of regulatory plans and create a more efficient system which better enables joined up working to achieve catchment-level outcomes Air:

• Challenging councils to improve air quality more quickly by assessing their performance and use of existing powers, while supporting them with clear guidance, funding, and tools.

• Reducing ammonia emissions through incentives in our new farming schemes, while considering expanding environmental permitting conditions to dairy and intensive beef farms.

• Improving the way air quality information is communicated with the public.

The plan sets out a clear framework to ensure progress can be clearly tracked.

The environmental principles policy statement will also be published today (January 31).

It means that, from 1 November 2023, environmental protection and enhancement will be embedded into the design and development of new policies across the Government.