Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Paragraph: 23
Consumption patterns in the UK are unsustainable.
Conclusion
Consumption patterns in the UK are unsustainable. Addressing these patterns is key to the UK’s contribution to the alleviation of global biodiversity loss. The first step is to recognise the need to reduce the UK’s overall consumption. We welcome that the Government has commissioned the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to develop a global environmental footprint indicator, but we are disappointed that the Government has not then committed to setting a global footprint target using this indicator to track progress in order to reduce the UK’s global environmental footprint.
Paragraph Reference:
23
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
When first published in 2019, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Outcome Indicator Framework included a commitment to develop an indicator describing overseas environmental impacts of UK consumption of key commodities (Indicator K11). We piloted an approach in development of this indicator in 2018 and 2019 and subsequently used this pilot to develop a methodology capable of measuring the overseas environmental impact of UK consumption. This work was undertaken by the Joint Nature Conservation 1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/25-year-environment-plan-progress-reports Committee (JNCC) and the findings were published in two stages: a first set of results in May 20212 and a second set of data published as an experimental statistic on 28 October 2021.3 The indicator is composed of a range of data including tropical deforestation risk, two separate measures of biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions related to tropical deforestation. The underlying data is disaggregated by commodity, meaning that the impact of one specific commodity can be understood, as well as allowing us to identify which commodities are causing the most impact. The development of this evidence is world-leading and reflects our desire to further our understanding of our impact on the natural environment, and our commitment to leave a lighter footprint on the global environment as enshrined in the 25 Year Environment Plan. Work is now underway to translate the outputs of the JNCC-led project into a high-level overview indicator, suitable for inclusion in the 25 Year Environment Plan Outcome Indicator Framework. It is anticipated that the resulting K1 indicator will be included in the next (2022) framework update report and over time will track the impact of UK domestic consumption on the environment overseas linked to the sustainability of the products we import. The Environment Act (2021) gives the Secretary of State the power to set legally binding targets on any matter relating to the natural environment, or people’s enjoyment of it. We believe that the best way to deliver targets is through a robust, evidence-led process and we need to ensure that a target is the right mechanism for driving positive results. needed, the global data landscape is not yet mature enough to monitor relevant progress on many metrics. We want to make sure that any interventions to reduce our global footprint can be effectively monitored and enforced. We will work with others to determine how the results of our indicator work can inform policy going forward. We are committed to leaving a lighter footprint on the global environment and will take decisive action to support this. However, the Government will not consider setting a target until it can be certain that it would be supported by a robust evidence base and not result in unintended consequences, such as potential displacement impacts.