Lord Redesdale

This Government is committed to delivering the species abundance, species extinction, and habitat creation and restoration targets in England set under the Environment Act.

The biodiversity targets Impact Assessment assessed the benefits and costs associated with the achievement of the Environment Act biodiversity targets, compared to setting no targets.

Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate and this loss matters. The market does not fully account for the value of biodiversity to society and will, as a result, fail to adequately protect biodiversity without government intervention. Setting legally binding biodiversity targets has created a legal obligation to deliver policy outcomes which will drive action and behaviour change.

The total present value for the suite of biodiversity targets (habitat, species abundance, and species extinction) was estimated to be £28,576 million, with a net present social value (benefits less costs) of £20,862 million. These benefit estimates are likely to be conservative. A cautious approach was taken to avoid any double counting of the cultural benefits, and several benefits were not explicitly captured in the benefits assessment due to insufficient evidence and data limitations. This included flood regulation, water supply, sustainable food production and pollination.

The UK fully supported the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and has already submitted to the Convention on Biological Diversity National Targets that are fully aligned with the Framework. The National Targets commit the UK to achieving each of the 23 global targets at home. We will publish the full UK National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) in due course.

Biodiversity policy in the UK is devolved, and the four nations of the UK and relevant Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are working collaboratively to identify a range of strategies and policies at UK and national level to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity. These will be updated as new and revised policies are introduced.

While the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is not legally binding, as a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UK is fully committed to playing our part in achieving the global goals and targets set out in the framework.

The UK fully supported the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and has already submitted to the Convention on Biological Diversity National Targets that are fully aligned with the Framework. The National Targets commit the UK to achieving each of the 23 global targets at home. We will publish the full UK National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) in due course.

Biodiversity policy in the UK is devolved, and the four nations of the UK and relevant Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are working collaboratively to identify a range of strategies and policies at UK and national level to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity. These will be updated as new and revised policies are introduced.

While the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is not legally binding, as a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UK is fully committed to playing our part in achieving the global goals and targets set out in the framework.