Welcoming new Bills for climate and nature

Including environment and agriculture bills in the Queen’s speech is a great start to tackling climate breakdown but CPRE, the countryside charity, wants the government to be more ambitious.

CPRE chief executive Crispin Truman welcomed the inclusion of an Environment Bill and Agriculture Bill in the Queen’s Speech and said this legislation will be crucial in signalling a clear ambition of the new government to tackle the climate and nature emergencies.

‘But we implore the government to go further and faster – there has been too much delay on these essential pieces of legislation,’ he said. ‘The government must maintain the clear ambition of the Conservative Party’s manifesto to support a fair transition to a net-zero future, paying farmers public money for public goods, creating a powerful and independent environmental watchdog, and introducing ambitious targets to restore nature, reduce waste and clean up our water and air.

‘Anything less would be a failure at a time when we’re in the midst of climate emergency.’