Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Rejected
Paragraph: 22
Unsustainable UK consumption patterns require reduction, lacking a committed global footprint target.
Conclusion
Consumption patterns in the UK which rely on the current global supply chain are unsustainable. Addressing these patterns is essential to the UK’s contribution to the alleviation of global biodiversity loss. The first step in addressing them is in recognising the need to reduce the UK’s overall consumption. We welcome the news that the UK Government has commissioned the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to develop a global environmental footprint indicator, but we are disappointed to observe that the Government has not yet made a commitment to setting a global footprint target using this indicator, so as to track progress made in reducing the UK’s global environmental footprint.
Government Response Summary
The government will continue to explore how the monitoring, measurement, and reporting of global environmental impacts can be further developed but states it will not consider setting a global footprint target until a robust evidence base is established to avoid unintended consequences.
Paragraph Reference:
22
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
impacts of UK consumption. Since 2019, when the Outcome Indicator Framework was first published, the government has developed an approach to monitoring the global environmental impact of UK consumption. Significant developments have been made since then, including the incorporation of this indicator into the Outcome Indicator Framework. This indicator remains classified as an ‘official statistic in development’ by the Office for National Statistics and relies on modelling rather than exact reporting of impact. We will continue to explore how the monitoring, measurement and reporting of these impacts can be further developed in future.