IPBES-12 delivered a clear message from science to society: restoring nature is not a brake on prosperity, but a precondition for it. The global economy has grown to extraordinary scale, but at the expense of the natural systems that sustain it. The Business and Biodiversity Assessment Summary Report removes any remaining excuse for inaction. The question now is not whether we understand the problem, but whether governments, businesses and financial institutions will act at the scale and speed that the science demands.

Last week, the fourth annual RACE Report was published, which is the UK’s largest analysis of the racial diversity of charities working in the environment sector. It’s encouraging to see a clear uptick in racial diversity among the organisations that have submitted data every year since the report’s inception in 2022.

CIEEM was represented this week at Natural England’s EDP Advisory Group meeting. The Advisory Group is supporting and advising on the development of Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs), which form part of the Government’s approach to implementing the Planning and Infrastructure Act.