The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has announced today that the government’s Environment Bill has been introduced to Parliament.

For the first time, the enhanced Bill will create new powers to stop the exports of polluting plastic waste to developing countries, which could prevent harmful waste from being shipped out of sight whilst boosting the UK’s domestic recycling system.

More broadly, Defra said the ground-breaking Bill will enshrine environmental principles in law and introduce measures to improve air and water quality, tackle plastic pollution and restore habitats so plants and wildlife can thrive.

The Bill will include a new commitment to review the biggest developments in environmental legislation from around the world every other year - the findings will be used in considering the UK’s own environmental plans.

This will work alongside a requirement for current and future Ministers to make a statement to Parliament identifying environmental impacts of all new environmental primary legislation.

Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers said:

“We have set out our pitch to be a world leader on the environment as we leave the EU and the Environment Bill is a crucial part of achieving this aim. It sets a gold standard for improving air quality, protecting nature, increasing recycling and cutting down on plastic waste.”

As well as the measures outlined above, legislation will create legally-binding environmental improvement targets. A new independent Office for Environmental Protection will be established to scrutinise environmental policy and law, investigate complaints and take enforcement action against public authorities, if necessary, to uphold our environmental standards.

The office’s powers will cover all climate change legislation and hold the government to account on its commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

The Bill places the 25 Year Environment Plan on a statutory footing and creates powers to enhance nature and habitats. Following on from the government’s 5p plastic bag charge, which has cut sales from the biggest supermarkets by 90% since 2015, it will also introduce charges for a number of single use plastic items.

The Bill, which was included in December’s Queen’s Speech and is introduced today, is intended to ensure the environment is at the heart of all government policy making and that this government – and future governments – are held to account if they fail to uphold their environmental duties.

This includes meeting net-zero by 2050 and wider long-term legally binding targets on biodiversity, air quality, water, and resource efficiency and waste management that are established under the Bill.

The Bill also sets out measures to protect water resources by increasing sustainable water management through securing long-term, resilient water and wastewater services in the face of a changing climate. New powers to direct water companies to work together to meet current and future demand for water are intended to make planning more robust.