The Environment Bill would establish a new environmental governance system, including the setting of long-term targets and the creation of an Office for Environmental Protection. It also includes measures on improving air quality, waste management and recycling, water management, biodiversity and conservation covenants. The bill is due to have it second reading in the House of Lords on 7 June 2021, having been carried over from the last session.
Environment Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages (377 KB , PDF)
On 7 June 2021, the second reading of the Environment Bill is scheduled to take place in the House of Lords. The bill is a wide-ranging piece of legislation, comprised of a range of different thematic elements. The first part of the bill is focused on environmental governance. It would allow the Government to set long-term targets for the natural environment and includes the creation of an Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) to hold the government to account on environmental law and its environmental improvement plan now that the UK has left the European Union.
The bill also provides for measures directed at specific areas of environmental policy. They include provisions on improving air quality; waste management and recycling; water management; protecting natural habitats and biodiversity; and for so-called conservation covenants.
The bill has completed its passage through the House of Commons. During debate on its provisions, Labour welcomed the bill but described it as lacking in the necessary ambition and insufficient to address the urgent need presented by the climate crisis and other critical environmental issues. As a result, Labour (and other opposition parties) tabled a range of amendments during committee and report stage, although all were unsuccessful.
Government amendments and new clauses were accepted at both stages. A number of these amendments were minor and technical in nature. Others were more substantial and are discussed in the body of this briefing. For example, concerning issues such as introducing greater clarity on the role of the Office for Environmental Protection and its relationship with the existing Committee on Climate Change.
The Government has also announced that it will seek to move further amendments in the House of Lords. They include measures aimed to reduce the harms caused by storm overflows and to introduce a legally binding target on species abundance.
Environment Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages (377 KB , PDF)
This proposed law seeks to reform pensions across the public sector. It would also make other changes to the rules related to judicial offices. The pension reforms partly respond to a finding of unlawful discrimination in existing schemes and are partly aimed at improving the operation of public sector pensions. The changes relating to judicial offices are intended to improve recruitment and retention in the judiciary.
![Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill [HL]](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/01/Government-VIGS-1232x924.jpg)
The net zero target requires the UK to achieve a 100% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (from 1990 levels). The Climate Change Committee’s 2021 progress report to Parliament highlighted the impact of behaviour change on reaching this target. It called upon the Government to produce a public engagement strategy for delivering net zero. The Government said its approach to public engagement will be included in a comprehensive net zero strategy scheduled to be published before the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021.
The Antarctic Treaty is a framework for peaceful coexistence and scientific cooperation in the continent. It was ratified in 1961 by the 12 countries active in Antarctica at the time. 60 years since its ratification, the number of parties to the Antarctic Treaty has increased. However, the challenges facing the continent have also grown, including the threat of climate change to the continent’s ice sheet and the impact of tourism on local flora and fauna.
