Environment

Our environment is our most precious resource; we depend on it for the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. We are one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world with about half of our nature lost. 

Our commitment to nature is not based solely on the economic value it can provide; we are part of nature and unless it flourishes, we cannot flourish either. 

Green MPs will aim to restore the health of soil and the purity of our water and protect pollinators like bees and other species that life depends on. 

The experiment of water privatisation has been an unmitigated disaster, with routine discharges of filth into our water courses while the shareholders of water companies cream off profits from our ever-rising bills. Water is a public good which we would choose to return to public ownership, a move that would also enable the restoration of habitats and biodiversity. 

Elected Greens will transform and reconnect us with nature by:

• Introducing a new Rights of Nature Act giving legal personhood to nature. • Set aside 30% of our land and seas by 2030 in which nature will receive the highest priority and protection. 

• Taking the water companies back into public ownership. 

Legal protection for the natural world 

Greens in parliament will make it a priority to pass a new Rights of Nature Act. For the first time, it would give Nature legal personhood, meaning that it could not be exploited for financial gain. 

The Act would also set standards for soil quality and phasing out the most harmful pesticides immediately (including glyphosate) and, as we move towards regenerative farming methods, introduce rigorous tests for all pesticides. Only pesticides that pass this test, and demonstrably don’t harm bees, butterflies and other wildlife, would be approved for use in UK and we would end the emergency authorisation of bee-killing pesticides. 

The Act will work in tandem with our commitment to a separate Climate and Nature Act. This will address the full extent of the climate and nature crisis in line with the most up-to-date science – and ensure a comprehensive and joined-up approach to the ecological emergency. Elected Greens will also push for a Clean Air Act, which will set new air quality standards for the UK. We would enshrine the right to breathe clean air in the law. 

Elected Greens would seek to strengthen and prevent any rollback of existing protections of the Green Belt, National Landscapes and Sites of Special Scientific Interest 

Safer waters for us all 

We are clear that the only way to end the scandal of our filthy water is to end the failed experiment with privatisation and bring the water companies back into public ownership. Money that is now being extracted by shareholders would be invested to fix the leaks and rebuild infrastructure. Public water companies must also ensure that abstraction respects nature.

Elected Greens will push to restore rivers and take a nature-based solutions approach to the prevention of flooding and storm overflows. 

We would increase DEFRA’s budget by £1.5bn, allowing an increase in funding for the Environment Agency and Natural England, to support the vital work they do to protect our environment. This would include developing a soil health monitoring programme for England, to match those in Scotland and Wales, to assess and understand changes in the health of soil over time. This would end the flow of pollution into rivers and the sea from fertilisers, agricultural waste and sewage, through effective monitoring and enforcement. 

Access to Nature 

Access to nature is essential for human health and well-being. Elected Greens will introduce a new Right to Roam Act for England, that would enable people to access green space close to where they live and be a first step to resetting our relationship with the natural world. This would be based on the model in Scotland and include sensible exceptions, such as fields where crops are growing. The Right to Roam Act would be accompanied by a renewed and strengthened Countryside Code which clearly sets out rights and responsibilities when accessing nature. 

Green MPs will also campaign to ensure that everybody lives within 15 minutes’ walking distance of a nature-rich greenspace. We will ensure car-free access to the National Parks with new cycling, walking, wheeling and bus links. 

Giving land and sea back to nature 

Currently only 5% of land in the UK qualifies as being effectively protected for nature. We need to bring nature back to life and restore valuable habitats. We would plan to give 30% of land and sea back to nature by 2030 ensuring that it is permanently protected. 

A priority would be the re-wetting of all peatland and increasing unharvested forest and woodland by over 50%. We should allow natural regeneration to take place. Increasing areas for scrub, hedgerows, rough-grazing orchards and creating new protected spaces in urban settings will also help meet this target. 

Grants of an additional £3bn annually will be made available to landowners and farmers by the middle of the next parliament to support returning land to nature, with generous per hectare payments. 

Whilst National Parks, National Landscapes and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) will be a major focus, returning land to nature can happen everywhere, even on brownfield sites and in towns and cities where there are important reservoirs of species that need to be supported, to improve nature connectivity. 

Green MPs will champion reintroducing nature into our urban environments, with investment in schemes such as street planting of native trees, compulsory hedgehog holes in all new fencing, swift bricks and bee corridors. And we will prioritise training of conservation workers and developing a public service professional path for nature conservation. 

Elected Greens also commit to making at least 30% of UK domestic waters into fully protected marine protected areas by 2030. We will seek to ban all destructive fishing practices from Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and other domestic waters.