"Examining the current state of the natural environment, standards and regulations in the UK – legally binding targets, whole system approaches, opportunities for collaboration, and next steps for delivering Improvements."

An adaptation of a talk on this theme given at the Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum on 25th April 2023.

The next steps needed to deliver environmental improvements

The focus on these thoughts is on the next steps that are needed to deliver improvements. They are given from the perspective of someone who is frequently advising landowners and farmers about the use of their rural land.

Progress in the area

What is abundantly clear is that there has been genuine progress in this area. 

The systematic environment enhancement of land (and the recognition of Net Zero, BNG, decarbonisation and climate change resilience, all of which come together into this area) has gone from being a specialist topic five years ago to something that is now intrinsic to the ownership and use of rural land.

That is not to say that the condition of the land was not treasured beforehand - many landowners and farmers would be appalled at the suggestion that they adopt anything but a long term approach to their land. The concept of stewardship of land is an expression that is used unselfconsciously in this area, and there is a lot of truth behind that. That stewardship legacy is always worth bearing in mind - concern for the environmental state of the land did not begin in 2018 - but what we see now is a systematic approach to environmental improvement and a broad and overt rejection of deleterious activities.

Drivers of action and the waiting middle market

Who are the drivers of action on the ground at the moment?  In practice, so far it has been land-owning institutions with ESG functions, charities and philanthropists.

And at the moment there is a large middle market that is waiting.  This will be the bulk of people whose action, when it comes, can move the dial significantly.

Where people are interested, they are getting on and doing it without waiting necessarily for the schemes to be in place.  But most of the middle market are being cautious.

Key next step

Looking at tree planting and the schemes around that, and comparing the focus there with environmentally beneficial activities over other rural land, then perhaps we will see what the key next steps has to be. 

We have the Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Carbon Code, but we need something to stand as the Farmland Carbon Code, to give credibility and a firm platform for the market.  There is a recognised need for an evidence base and measure of success, and this will be part of that.

The British Standards Institute have been tasked by DEFRA with delivering something that looks like it will be a way of certifying a variety of rural land-based carbon schemes, which have to meet minimum thresholds and will then presumably be entitled to some sort of kitemark.  

That is needed now, and the 3 year timescale from BSI is perhaps unambitious given that a lot of thought has already gone into this.   I suggest that is needed as soon as it can properly be achieved. It should give a level of general acceptance of a scheme that will give landowners and farmers the confidence to lock up their land in beneficial schemes over the medium to long term.

No doubt this will start to happen in practice anyway, as some of the early movers’ schemes come to fruition and they are seeing to be successful, but the absence of that central regulatory approval for schemes is still in my view an issue, and unlocking that will unlock positive outcomes..