The relationship between humans and nature is under intense and increasing strain. The report released today by IPBES, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (akin to the IPCC reports on climate change), provides compelling evidence that humans are overexploiting wild species and habitats. Harmful activities, including habitat destruction, poor farming practices and pollution, have altered ecosystems significantly, driving many species past the point of recovery. In Great Britain alone, of the 8,431 species assessed in the 2019 State of Nature report, 1,188 are threatened with extinction. Globally, there are an estimated 1 million at risk, with biodiversity declining at a faster rate than at any time in human history.

We cannot ignore biodiversity loss. Biodiversity is the variability that exists among all living organisms, between different species, within species including genetic makeup, and in wider ecosystems. Billions of people rely on wild species for food, clean water, energy, income and health and wellbeing. Annually, crops worth up to £480 billion are pollinated by a variety of wild animals, and an estimated 4 billion people depend on natural medicines for their healthcare. These vital ecosystem services are fundamentally based on a healthy environment, and this requires biodiversity. Losing biodiversity leaves species and ecosystems less resilient to challenges such as invasive species or pests, meaning there is an increased risk of whole populations being wiped out and destabilising the entire ecological network. Nature is a finite resource, and human self-interest alone should determine that biodiversity must be protected.

Alongside overexploitation, humans are driving biodiversity loss by destroying, polluting and fragmenting habitats across the globe. Many of the UK’s important peatlands, which provide a home for rare species such as the hen harrier, have been drained for agricultural use. The Amazon rainforest is being cleared to such an extent that it may be near a tipping point beyond which it cannot recover.

The climate crisis is exacerbating the issue. Many species simply cannot adapt to the scale and pace of changing temperatures. For example, warming seas and ocean acidification are devastating coral reefs around the world. This year, the Great Barrier Reef suffered its sixth mass bleaching event since 1998 with more than 90% of reefs affected. In many cases, when an ecosystem loses biodiversity, it becomes less able to store carbon, contributing to further climate change. We have a vicious cycle: climate change leads to biodiversity losses, which in turn leads to further climate change. As governments around the world develop plans to reduce carbon emissions and conserve biodiversity, the message is simple: we must solve both problems together.

What can be done? Just as science has diagnosed the problem, it can provide solutions. Using strong evidence, such as this IPBES report, governments can develop effective policy. Integrated and collaborative planning can deliver sustainable solutions which address climate change and biodiversity loss simultaneously, protecting and enriching human lives.

In southern India, scientists, Indigenous communities and local government have worked collaboratively to protect and restore mangrove forests. The trees’ interconnecting large-root systems offer protection against rising sea levels, provide habitats for fish and crustaceans, and clean surrounding water. The trees also draw and store carbon from the atmosphere and encourage carbon-rich sediment deposits. The increase in wildlife has benefited small scale fisheries and tourism. Innovative and effective nature-based initiatives such as these could be implemented throughout different landscapes across the planet.

There are also simple day-to-day things we can do to benefit our environment; for instance, reducing food waste. Currently about 30% of all food produced globally goes uneaten, meaning a significant proportion of the resources, and importantly the land used to grow, process, pack and transport it, is wasted and less able to support biodiversity.

Political will and leadership are needed, and the 15th UN Convention on Biological Diversity conference in December, CBD COP15, provides the next critical opportunity for governments to commit to real ambitious change.

CBD COP15 could deliver landmark action and be as important for biodiversity as the Paris Agreement is proving for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will set the direction for the next decade of international action and beyond. Governments should agree to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and develop evidence-based, actionable plans to do so. An important challenge is to define a reliable and simple integrated metric, like carbon emissions have been used for climate goals. At the end of June, negotiators met in Nairobi for their latest attempt to agree the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and while progress was made, it did not go far enough.

The last decade’s targets were not met; the next decade’s must be. Credible delivery plans will be required, and we need a robust mechanism for monitoring progress and holding ourselves to account. CBD COP15 is the time to finalise the framework, and countries must come to the table prepared to make and support ambitious commitments. This is our chance to secure long-lasting agreements to protect our planet.

Derelict and underused brownfield sites across England will be transformed into thousands of new homes, creating thriving communities and levelling up the country – the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced today (8 July 2022).

From today, councils will be able to apply for a share of the new £180 million Brownfield Land Release Fund 2, which will help to transform disused urban areas into 17,600 new homes and create around 54,000 jobs over the next 4 years.

An initial £40 million is available to support local regeneration projects, releasing council land for around 4,000 new homes (and creating 12,400 jobs). The move will boost local economies and help thousands of young people and families into homeownership. The remaining £140 million of the Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 will be made available to councils over the next 2 years.

The scheme forms part of the government’s plan to level up communities across the country and turn unloved areas into new places for people to live and work

Minister for Government Efficiency Jacob Rees-Mogg said:

Opening up this land is a fantastic opportunity for regeneration, improving government efficiency and playing a vital role in tackling the housing shortage while increasing home ownership. I am pleased to see this work is being delivered, after many attempts over the decades.

This will provide a boost to the economy, foster the creation of thousands of jobs, and it is also the opportunity to convert derelict and unloved land into beautiful new hamlets or villages, which will give many young families their first step on the housing ladder.

The fund aims to support the transformation of small council-owned sites that have been previously developed, by funding small scale infrastructure and remediation work to enable the release of the land for new homes.

This builds on the success of the first Brownfield Land Release Fund which saw £77 million go to councils across the country to release brownfield sites for around 7,750 new homes, examples include:

• As part of this, the Lancashire One Public Estate partnership £670,000 to support the remediation of land at Griffin Housing Regeneration site in Blackburn. This enabled the phase 1 development of the site to progress and deliver 140 new homes for affordable rent or shared ownership.

• In Blackpool, £400,000 provided a new traffic system for a development at Ryscar Way. The improved road access opened up land for 51 new homes.

• In Rotherham, £300,000 unlocked the sites of 2 former adult care residential facilities to provide 44 new homes for first-time buyers and older people in the local area.

As with the previous scheme, the new fund will be delivered through the One Public Estate partnership between the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Office of Government Property and the Local Government Association.

Councils will be able to draw on their understanding of local needs in determining the type, tenure and delivery approach for the new homes. They have until 19 August 2022 to submit applications via the designated accountable body of their local OPE Partnership.

Bids will be assessed on a number of gateway criteria including: market failure; deliverability; and value for money.

The prioritisation of bids will comprise an assessment of the strategic case, innovation and consideration of the bid’s ability to meet the council’s Public Sector Equality Duty, combined with a place-based metric.

To support the development of new Local Plans, councils will receive additional points where they can demonstrate that they are supporting the plan making process.

The capital grant funding is available to all English councils. Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and the Greater London Authority (GLA) are eligible, as are their constituent councils.

Further information about applications to the second round of the Brownfield Land Release Fund is available on the Local Government Association website.

The Environment Agency has begun a 12-week public consultation on 3 environmental permits for the operation of the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station.

It is seeking feedback from the community and all stakeholders between 4 July to 25 September 2022.

NNB Generation Company (Sizewell C) wants to build a new nuclear power station next to Sizewell B in Suffolk. It applied for the 3 environmental permits in May 2020, and the Environment Agency consulted on those applications from 6 July 2020 to 2 October 2020.

Each permit is an important regulatory permission that the company requires for the operation of the power station. They cover controls the company needs to put in place to ensure high standards of environmental protection during commissioning, operation and decommissioning.

If granted, the permits would allow Sizewell C to:

• dispose of and discharge radioactive waste (radioactive substances activity permit),
• operate standby power supply systems using diesel generators (combustion activity permit), and,
• discharge cooling water and liquid effluent into the North Sea (water discharge activity permit).

Public drop-ins will be held, as part of the consultation, where people can meet an Environment Agency specialist. They can discuss the proposed decision documents, draft permits and supporting assessments.

The Environment Agency’s Sizewell C project manager, Simon Barlow, said:

Our proposed decision is that we should issue the permits for the 3 operational activities, subject to the consultation process. These draft permits represent over 10 years of pre-application discussions with EDF SZC Co.

We’ve set out our reasoning in the documents and supporting assessments.

The company has applied for these permits many years ahead of the station operating. If we grant these permits early in the project, it will help us to positively influence the design, procurement, and commissioning of the power station, whilst also ensuring that the environment and wildlife is protected.

We want our decisions to be better-informed through consultation and want to hear people’s views on our proposed decisions.

If you have any relevant information that you feel we have missed, you can provide your comments, which we will carefully consider, before we make our final decision in early 2023.

The draft permits, proposed decision documents and other supporting documents can be read online where you can also respond to the consultation:

If you would like to sign up for Environment Agency e-bulletins about the work and regulation of the Sizewell C project, contact: SizewellCNNB@environment-agency.gov.uk

Ends

Notes for Editors

About us

The Environment Agency is the independent environmental regulator for the nuclear industry in England. We make sure that nuclear power stations meet high standards of environmental protection.

The Environment Agency regulates specific environmental matters at nuclear sites in England by issuing environmental permits. These permits cover site preparation, construction, operation and decommissioning.

Any company that wants to operate a nuclear power station must show that it can build, commission, operate and decommission it safely and securely, whilst protecting the environment and managing radioactive waste.

We also work closely with the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), which regulates the safety and security aspects of the Sizewell nuclear sites.

As well as regulating the proposed site, through these environmental permits, the Environment Agency also provides advice and information to the Planning Inspectorate, including the protection of water quality and ecology, and flood and coastal risk management.

This consultation and what happens next

The Environment Agency has consulted on and assessed the applications, and its proposed decision is to issue the permits subject to the limits and conditions specified. The conclusions of our other assessments, for example, Radiological Impact Assessment, Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA), Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW), Water Framework Directive) also support this view.

We have assessed the risks to designated habitats and species and consider that the proposed activities will not have an adverse effect on European sites, or damage Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Our consultation does not relate to the UK EPR™ design. It is not about the need for nuclear power, UK energy policy, the siting of nuclear power stations, nor the safety and security of the design.

During and after the 12 weeks, Environment Agency experts will consider comments and further feedback before making any final decisions.

Online consultation website

Talk to our staff at events:

• Thursday 14 July, 2pm-7.30pm, Saxmundham Market Hall, High Street, IP17 1AF
• Friday 15 July, 2pm-7.30pm, Aldeburgh Parish Church, Church Hall, Victoria Road, IP15 5DU
• Saturday 16 July, 9am-1.30pm, Leiston Community Centre, King George’s Avenue, IP16 4JX

Assessing new nuclear power station designs

We have previously worked with the Office for Nuclear Regulation to carry out generic-design assessment on the design proposed for Sizewell C, known as EDF-Areva’s UK EPR™.

That assessment process ended in December 2012 and the Environment Agency and ONR concluded that the reactor design is ‘acceptable.’ This means that people and the environment will be properly protected if this reactor design is constructed and operated in the UK.

This design is currently under construction at Hinkley Point C in Somerset.

For further information about our role in nuclear new build, visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sizewell-nuclear-regulation