Toothless, Target-Free And Riddled W. Loopholes: UK's Self-Proclaimed "Visionary" Environment Bill
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The bill has already been delayed several times, because of a lack of parliamentary time, after it was first brought forward by then environment secretary Michael Gove in 2018, but ministers are confident of passing it this time. Kierra Box, campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said the bill was flawed. “[It] falls a long way short of the landmark legislation promised by this government,” she said. “Rather than locking in existing protections for our natural world and climate, and an ambitious programme for enhancing our environment in future, this new legislation is riddled with exemptions and loopholes.”
She pointed to the lack of guaranteed targets on issues such as plastic pollution, the government’s oversight of a new environmental watchdog, and powers that allow ministers to weaken protections for UK species and UK habitats. New targets on air quality will not come until late 2022, and new regulations requiring companies to root out links to illegal deforestation from their supply chains will not extend to the banks providing funding to companies involved in deforestation.
Sarah Olney, a Liberal Democrat MP, said it was hypocritical for the government to claim credit for protecting the environment, while bringing forward new powers to develop swathes of green belt land for housing, with few environmental protections.
“It is utterly outrageous that the Conservatives voted down vital protections for our green spaces, rendering this environment bill nothing more than toothless,” she said. “The Tories have with one hand stripped away local communities’ rights to protect their green spaces and with another left their developer friends an open goal to bulldoze and concrete over it.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/26/ministers-accused-of-hypocrisy-over-toothless-environment-bill