Make this a turning point

This is a Westminster Hall debate on environmental protections and biodiversity trends, taking place on Tuesday 3 March, 4.30–5.30pm. 

It was announced just days ago and comes at a critical moment as the UK Government prepares to make far-reaching decisions about the future of our wild spaces - including how protected sites, habitats and species are managed. The current consideration of recommendations from the Fingleton Nuclear Regulatory Review is one clear example of the scale of change on the table. The choices made now will shape the future of our protected landscapes and wildlife for years to come.

Sadly, it can’t be denied that right now we are falling behind. Nature is in decline, yet we are being told that environmental protections must be weakened in the name of growth. We know this is a false choice.

This debate is a chance for our representatives to step up, speak out, and help change course.

Growth and nature should not be pitted against each other - they must go hand in hand. We need to build a resilient future with a healthy natural world at its heart.

By asking MPs to attend this debate, we’re urging them to draw a clear line in the sand, to defend the protections we have and choose a better path forward while there’s still time.

The Prime Minister is backing proposals from the Fingleton Nuclear review report that could weaken the rules specifically designed to protect England’s most important wildlife sites - and he has recommended applying them far beyond new nuclear power stations, across the whole of the UK Industrial Strategy.

How these recommendations will be implemented is currently under consideration by the UK Government. While Tuesday’s debate focuses on wider environmental protections and the overall direction our country is taking to safeguard nature - not just the elements that may change as a result of the Fingleton Review - these recommendations are nonetheless critical in determining that direction.

This is because they could make it easier for major developments to damage protected areas by changing how the Habitats Regulations and other environmental safeguards apply purely in an attempt to speed-up development consents, despite there being no evidence this approach would speed up construction. Crucially, John Fingleton, the author of the review, has himself questioned whether extending these recommendations as the PM suggest is a sensible choice.

This comes at a moment when nature cannot afford further setbacks. The Office for Environmental Protection’s latest progress report shows the UK Government is largely off track in meeting its legally binding targets, especially to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030, and its Environmental Improvement Plan commitments - including, improving protected sites, and achieving the UK’s goal to have 30% of the UK protected for nature by 2030.

Weakening environmental rules now would move those targets even further out of reach. Protected sites play a crucial role in stabilising and recovering nature across the wider landscape; if the safeguards around them are eroded with large scale development being exempted, the knock-on effects for species, habitats, and climate resilience will be profound.

Instead, this debate is the chance for us change course, step away from divisive rhetoric start working towards a future that protects nature from the outset