Today marks the United Nations’ World Environment Day, an annual event to raise awareness globally of the need to protect our environment.
This year’s theme is air quality and there is coverage in today’s Times of comments made by David Boyd, the UN’s special representative on human rights and the environment. Mr Boyd has called on countries to take urgent action on air pollution and criticised the UK government for ‘failing its citizens by producing air quality plans so weak that they breached its legal duty’.
The UK government agrees that strong action is required to tackle air pollution, which is why our Clean Air Strategy sets out the comprehensive action required across all parts of government to improve air quality. It has been praised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an “example for the rest of the world to follow”.
Current levels of air pollution in the UK meet all legal limits, apart from NO2 which is why we have a dedicated plan in place setting out how we will achieve compliance in the shortest possible time.
Our comprehensive Environment Bill will include measures to clean our air, give legal force to our Clean Air Strategy, and make the UK a world leader in environmental protection.
In addition to our work on tackling air pollution, we have made huge strides in environmental protection over the last 12 months from expanding the UK’s Blue Belt to introducing one of the world’s toughest ivory bans.
We know there is more to do which is why we have made 2019 our Year of Action, with plans to put our landmark 25 Year Environment Plan on statutory footing through the first Environment Bill in 20 years.
Over the last 12 months, the government has:
- Published an ambitious new strategy to clean up our air and save lives with the new Clean Air Strategy, committing to halving the number of people living in areas breaching World Health Organisation guidelines on particulate matter by 2025.
- Put the UK at the forefront of combatting the illegal wildlife trade through introducing one of the world’s toughest ivory bans and hosting the global Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in London.
- Shown global leadership in ocean protection by designating 41 new Marine Conservation Zones, calling for 30% of the world’s ocean to be protected by 2030 and co-chairing the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance with Vanuatu.
- Protected our marine environment by launching our flagship Fisheries Bill and introducing one of the world’s toughest bans on microbeads.
- Supported 183 projects around the world through the Darwin Initiative, Darwin plus and the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.
- Kicked-off the Year of Green Action by appointing 15 new ambassadors to inspire green social action during 2019.
- Committed to plans for the first Environment Bill in 20 years setting out how we will create a pioneering new system of green governance, placing our 25 Year Environment Plan on a statutory footing and strengthening the framework for tackling air pollution.
- Cracked down on plastic waste by confirming a ban on the supply of plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers in April 2020, and has consulted on plans to extend the 5p plastic bag charge to all retailers and increase the charge to 10p.
- Launched a landmark Resources and Waste Strategy including consulting on plans to introduce consistent recycling for all households to end the confusion over what can and cannot be recycled, a Deposit Return Scheme to drive up the recycling of cans and bottles, and plans for producers to pay the full cost of managing their packaging waste through Extended Producer Responsibility.
- Introduced financial penalties of up to £400 for householders who pass their waste to rogue ‘man-with-a-van’ waste carriers who fly-tip.
- Urged nearly 300 of the biggest players in food, including all of the UK’s major supermarkets, to sign a pledge to take ground-breaking action to help halve food waste by 2030.
- Safeguarded our forests and woodlands by kick-starting the creation of a Northern Forest, appointing a Tree Champion, consulting on plans to give communities a greater say in protecting local trees, and launching a £10million fund to plant more trees in towns and cities.
- Protected our landscapes for future generations by launching a review to strengthen and enhance England’s National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
- Laid our landmark Agriculture Bill before Parliament to introduce a fairer, more sustainable system of environmental land management.
- Laid legislation before Parliament to ban the third party sale of puppies and kittens, and end the scourge of puppy farming, which forms part of our wider reforms to cement the UK’s position as a global leader on animal welfare.