Lead member
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Labour, Life peer
Lords
Decision
Not moved
The amendment was not moved. The House was not invited to take a decision on it (though it may have been debated with other amendments).
Amendment text
Before Clause 95
Insert the following new Clause—
“State of nature target
(1)
The Secretary of State must set a target (“the state of nature target”) to—
(a)
halt, and
(b)
begin to reverse
the decline in the state of nature in England.
(2)
To satisfy the requirement under subsection (1), the Secretary of State must, as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than 6 months after the day on which this Act is passed, lay before both Houses of Parliament—
(a)
a statement containing—
(i)
the state of nature target,
(ii)
a deadline for achieving the target that is no later than 2030, and
(iii)
details of any interim targets or progress reviews,
(b)
a draft statutory instrument containing regulations outlining how Her Majesty’s Government will measure progress toward the target, and
(c)
details of any supplementary legislative proposals needed to meet the target.
(3)
In preparing the target and any legislation needed to enact it, the Secretary of State must obtain, publish and have due regard to the advice of—
(a)
the Environment Agency,
(b)
Natural England,
(c)
the Office for Environmental Protection,
(d)
the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and
(e)
any other body the Secretary of State deems appropriate.
(4)
In this section—
“the state of nature” includes—
(a)
the abundance and distribution of territorial and marine wildlife species,
(b)
the risk of extinction, and
(c)
the extent and condition of priority habitats;
“priority habitats” refers to the habitats listed under section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (biodiversity lists and action (England)).”
Member’s explanatory statement
This new Clause would require the Secretary of State to set a target and accompanying mechanisms to begin to reverse the loss of biodiversity in England, with the end date of 2030 aligning with the new Convention on Biological Diversity goals that are due to be agreed later this year.