Recommendation 27

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted

This Government is committed to ensuring this is the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than it found it, with the Government’s long-term agenda laid out in the 25 Year Environment Plan. For example, the £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund will provide funding for projects across England to restore nature while creating and safeguarding jobs and building skills in the sector. Across the projects awarded at the first round of the Fund, we estimate that more than 1,500 jobs and traineeships will be created or retained within the conservation sector and its suppliers. The recent Spending Review settlement increased Defra’s budgets by almost £1 billion. This will allow the Government to do more to harness the power of nature in the fight against climate change - and connect people with green spaces—through nature-based solutions which capture carbon and enhance biodiversity. This includes £92 million for the Nature for Climate Fund—to increase tree planting and peatland restoration in line with the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) recommendations. The Government has also published the Agricultural Transition Plan for England, setting out plans to phase out Direct Payments, which offer poor value for taxpayers’ money and do little for the environment, and introduce three new schemes that reward environmental benefits. Through these schemes, farmers and other land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering public goods. Our Environment Bill lays the foundation for the Nature Recovery Network: It sets the framework for at least one legally binding biodiversity target. It establishes Local Nature Recovery Strategies to identify the priorities and opportunities for nature recovery and it creates duties and incentives, such as biodiversity net gain, to drive change on the ground; these will complement our plans for a new schemes that reward environmental benefits. The Nature Recovery Network will be an expanded and increasingly connected network of places that are richer in wildlife and more resilient to climate change. It will provide wider environmental benefits, including carbon capture and recreation. Our increased investment in nature will also support the creation and retention of a range of jobs, and the development of skills.