The government is failing to reduce air pollution, protect biodiversity and prevent flooding, a cross-party body of MPs has said.
16 September 2014
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The Environmental Audit Committee
dished out a "red card" on these three concerns after
examining efforts made since 2010.
The MPs said on a further seven green
issues ministers deserved a "yellow card" denoting
unsatisfactory progress.
The government said it strongly
disagreed with the findings.
After coming to power in 2010, Prime
Minister David Cameron stated he was committed to leading the
"greenest government ever".
A year
later, a natural environment White Paper had the ambition
of being "the first generation to leave the natural environment
of England in a better state than it inherited".
Dirty air
To put these ideas to the test, MPs
decided to look at 10 key measures of environmental protection.
On air quality, The Environmental Audit
Committee (EAC) said the government deserved a red card.
The MPs found that emissions of
airborne pollutants rose in 2013 after being steady for a number of
years before. Under the terms of an EU directive on dirty air, the UK
failed to meet the standards required in 34 of the country's 43
zones.
This led to the European
Commission taking legal action to force a more rapid clean up.
However an assessment carried out by
the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said that
London and two other regions would not meet the legal limits until
2030.
"A whole generation of young
people in our cities will potentially have their health impaired by
pollution before the government meets air quality safety standards,"
said committee chairman Joan Walley.
"That is not acceptable. We need
to see much more urgent action in this area and we will be looking at
this area in more detail when we publish the results of our inquiry
later this year."
On biodiversity, the government also
scored red.
The latest sustainable development
indicators showed a decline in the counts of three of the four bird
populations that are seen as key indicators for the state of the UK's
wildlife. The MPs found that invasive species were also on the
rise and becoming more prevalent.
The third red card meted out by the EAC
was for flooding and coastal protection.
The committee pointed out that 2.4
million properties are still at risk from flooding from rivers or the
sea, while three million are at risk from surface water.
The government's attempts to deliver
natural flood alleviation measures were rated as "consistently
poor" by Wildlife and Countryside Link in 2013. Nine of the
24 water areas in England and Wales were said to be experiencing
serious water stress.
'Deeply committed'
In a statement, the Department for the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) vigorously disagreed with
the MPs' assessment.
"We are deeply committed to
improving our natural environment. That is why we will be spending
more than £3.2bn - compared to £2.7bn in the last parliament - on
protecting the country from floods.
"We are also working to improve
air and water quality; and to protect wildlife habitats both on land
and at sea."
The MPs argued that there should be an
overarching environmental strategy that would set out a strategic
principle that would guide protection over the next five, 10 and 25
years.
To make this work they have proposed a
new Office for Environmental Responsibility to advise on appropriate
targets and monitor and publish performance against the strategy and
its targets.
"I want the parties to use our
report as both a wake-up call and a template for the measures that
need to be put forward," said Ms Walley.
"Consistent action by successive
governments will help ensure that the benefits of nature are
available to future generations as much as they are to ours."
(source: BBC)
