King’s speech – What does it mean for the environment?

Today, the King set out the new Labour government’s legislative programme for the UK, outlining their priorities and key areas of focus we can expect to see over the coming years. During the speech, the Labour government recognised the “urgency of the global climate challenge and the new job opportunities that can come from leading the development of the technologies of the future”. These statements are important, particularly to help set the tone of the new Government, but what are the new bills concerning the environment?

Great British Energy Bill: A bill to set up Great British Energy, a publicly owned clean power company focused on renewable investments. The company will be based in Scotland and aims to ensure a just transition away from oil and gas.

Water (Special Measures) Bill: A bill to strengthen the power of water regulators against privatised water companies, including the ability to charge bosses with personal criminal liability and ban bonuses if environmental standards are not met.

Planning and Infrastructure Bill: A bill to “speed up and streamline the planning process” that involves simplifying the consenting process and allowing some development to take place on green belt land.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (revenue support mechanism) Bill: A bill to increase investment in UK plants creating lower-emission aviation fuels.

The speech was not as transformative for the environment as many hoped it would be, much to the disappointment of the Green Party. The biodiversity crisis, habitat loss and what Labour will do to restore the natural environment did not receive any significant mention or specific bill,  with Labour pledging only to “use development to fund nature recovery” during the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. It is essential that if Labour plans to build more and more houses that environmental targets are not watered down or forgotten and that BNG is pushed over and above for large-scale developments.

This initial phase of Government has centred itself entirely around growth, but sustainable, long-term growth is impossible without a functioning natural environment. To help the UK Government achieve this, CIEEM has laid out seven key recommendations that the Government should take to deliver natural recovery and halt the biodiversity and climate crisis. You can read more about these here, on our resource hub.