Landmark legislation passed in Wales: Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill
Tuesday 24th February saw the passing of a landmark piece of legislation in Wales in the shape of the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill. The Bill was voted through the Senedd with significant cross-party support: 51 of 60 MSs voted in favour of the bill, with the only two votes against coming from Wales’ two Reform MSs.
The bill could be a watershed, introducing three new major areas of environmental policy in Wales, which are captured in the title of the bill.
Principles
The principles section of the Bill is the latest attempt to “enshrine” environmental thinking within all areas of policymaking in Wales. By establishing a set of environmental principles in Welsh law – such as ‘polluter pays’ or taking preventative action on environmental degradation – and placing a duty on Ministers and other public bodies to consider the principles in their activities, the bill aims to ensure that nature is an integral issue for decisionmakers in every Welsh Government department and public body.
Previous attempts to universalise environmental ideas in Welsh policy have been made, most notably with the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act and the Environment Act (2016). The latter places a similar duty on Ministers and public bodies in Wales to maintain or enhance biodiversity through their decision making and actions. However, putting this ambition into practice has proven difficult, with reports consistently noting that many Ministers and public bodies struggle to understand the duty. It is hoped that, by providing a clear set of principles, the new bill will address this issue and “further refine” the Environment Act.
Governance
The bill establishes Wales’ first ever permanent independent governance body to monitor compliance with environmental law amongst Ministers and public bodies. This will finally bring Wales into alignment with the rest of the UK – similar watchdogs already exist in England and Northern Ireland (the Office for Environmental Protection) and Scotland (Environmental Standards Scotland). The newly created Office for Environmental Governance Wales (OEGW) will replace the previous interim body (Interim Environmental Protection Assessor in Wales).
Improvements to the OEGW were among the most significant of the many wins secured by the environmental sector during the debate stages of the bill. Thanks to the efforts of many in the sector, sufficient funding for the OEGW will be safeguarded by law, and the public and non-governmental organisations (such as CIEEM) will be able to make representations to the body.
Biodiversity Targets
Securing statutory Wales-specific biodiversity targets, equivalent to those in place for climate change, has been a longstanding ambition for the environmental sector in Wales. This bill itself will not set the targets but rather establishes a framework for Ministers to create targets aimed at halting and reversing biodiversity loss.
These targets will be legally-binding, meaning Ministers have a duty to deliver them, and they must be introduced within two years of the bill gaining Royal Assent (an advance from the three years originally planned, another amendment victory secured by the environmental sector). An advisory panel is in place to steer the development of these targets, with the Chair of our Wales Policy Group one of the members of the panel.
Timely
The passing of this bill comes just weeks after the release of the latest State of Natural Resources Report (SoNaRR) by Natural Resources Wales (NRW). As we wrote about in our blog accompanying the release – which you can read here – the report stressed the urgent need for a reimagining of Wales’ approach to policy and the environment.
It is hoped that the bill, by setting clear biodiversity targets for the country, providing a set of principles for all policymakers to adhere to, and establishing an independent body to monitor compliance with environmental law, will go a significant way to making this reimagining a reality.
You can hear more about our thoughts on the Environment Bill in next month’s Nature in a Nutshell podcast.