Key Facts

• Amendments are debated but voted on in order within the Bill.
• A stand part debate occurs at the end of each clause's discussion.
• The amendment seeks to replace “may” with “must” in clause 1.
• Clause 92 states that the Secretary of State must publish information and reports.
• Clause 131 allows the Secretary of State to appoint a date for certain provisions to come into force by regulations.
• In the Energy Act 2013, Part 5 became live two months after the Act was passed but was never implemented due to discretion.
• The Bill allows flexibility in target setting but includes specific duties, such as setting PM2.5 targets.
• The Secretary of State is required to set “at least one” target in each of the Bill’s priority areas.
• The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) will oversee and enforce government implementation of environmental provisions.
• New clause 1 aims to achieve and maintain a healthy natural environment.
• New clause 6 provides a framework for achieving and maintaining environmental objectives such as a healthy, resilient, biodiverse natural environment, supporting human health and wellbeing, and sustainable resource use.
• Amendment 103 gives the Secretary of State power to look at environmental objectives holistically.
• New clause 1 aims to enshrine an environmental objective in the Bill, focusing on achieving and maintaining a healthy natural environment.
• The amendments aim to provide clarity and direction for future administrations and remove carve-outs that exempt departments from applying environmental principles.
• New clause 1 proposes an overarching environmental objective.
• New clause 6 complements new clause 1 by establishing specific environmental targets including human health and wellbeing, biodiversity, and sustainable resource use.
• Air quality in places like London and Leeds is among the worst in Europe.
• New clause 1 is similar to new clause 6 which has the support of the Chair of the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
• The purpose of these new clauses is to add an overall clarification of the environmental purpose of the Bill.
• Dr Whitehead suggests that these amendments would add considerable robustness to the Bill by gathering everything together under an umbrella of purpose.
• The government will set at least one new long-term target in each of four priority areas (water, air quality, waste and resources, biodiversity) by October 31, 2022.
• A review of these targets and environmental improvement plans will be conducted and reported to Parliament by January 31, 2023.
• The Office for Environmental Protection will have oversight over the Government’s implementation of their duties under environmental law.
• Amendment 1 seeks to clarify legal requirements for setting long-term environmental targets.
• Amendment 85 aims to ensure the review of environmental targets considers both terrestrial and marine environments.
• The amendments aim to strengthen provisions related to maintaining a healthy environment.
• Amendment 76 proposes adding a reference to global footprint at clause 1, page 1.
• Amendment 77 adds a specific deadline for meeting the global footprint target by December 31, 2020.
• Amendment 78 aims to define 'global footprint' and its implications on environmental harm and human rights violations.
• The global decline of natural assets costs £368 billion annually.
• More than 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress are attributed to extraction and processing of natural resources.
• Land and oceans could offer up to one third of carbon mitigation needed globally by 2030.
• Around 77% of agricultural land is used for livestock production.
• Soya imports represent nearly half of Europe’s deforestation footprint, with about 90% used as animal feed.
• 50 million hectares of forest have been destroyed since 2006 due to voluntary commitments failing.
• Greenpeace's soy moratorium in Brazil led to almost no Amazon forest being cleared for soy by 2014.
• The amendments aim to include provisions for the UK's international environmental footprint.
• Chief Raoni, an indigenous leader from the Amazon, visited the House three weeks prior.
• West Papua hosts one of the world’s largest mines with associated human rights abuses and environmental impacts.
• BP is involved in oil and gas resources offshore in areas affecting global environmental health.
• The amendment would create a legal obligation for the Government to set targets on the global environmental footprint by December 31, 2020.
• Reliable metrics and baselines are necessary before setting legally binding targets.
• The UK achieved 77% certified sustainable palm oil in 2018, up from 16% in 2010.
• Targets are proposed within the priority areas of air quality, water, biodiversity, and resource efficiency.
• The amendment includes specific targets for PM2.5 and PM10 ambient concentrations, human exposure levels, and annual emissions of NOx, ammonia, PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and non-methane volatile organic compounds.
• Water targets include abstraction rates and the chemical and biological status of inland freshwater and marine environments.
• Biodiversity targets cover species abundance, diversity, extinction risk, habitat quality, extent, and connectivity.