Brave new world: government pledges to boost Britain’s access to nature for COP28
To mark the beginning of COP28, the UK government have set out an ‘ambitious’ new nature package to improve the publics access to greenspace.
Today, 30th November 2023, marks the beginning of COP28 at the Dubai Exhibition Centre. The two-week long climate conference, which occurs every year, sees leaders gather from all over the world to discuss how to take control over the climate crisis.
Amongst inevitable discussions of how to lower greenhouse gas emissions, leaders are also looking for ways to preserve the green spaces in their areas in a bid to preserve the natural world. Evidence of this can be found in the UK government’s recent announcement of new measures to help protect the built environment and encourage more people to enjoy green spaces.
‘I shared in the nation’s profound sense of anger in response to what happened at the Sycamore Gap earlier this year, but the public’s outrage fundamentally demonstrated just how much love the British people have for the natural world,’ said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. ‘From Yorkshire’s historic rolling moors to ancient rainforest on the Cornish coast, we are home to many globally significant landscapes.’
Mr Sunak added: ‘As I head to COP28, we are reasserting the UK’s leading role in promoting our iconic landscapes and keeping nature at the centre of our action to tackle climate change.’
Yesterday, 29th November, environment secretary Steve Barclay unveiled the new package dedicated to enhancing and improving green spaces contains launching a search for a new national park, 34 new landscape recovery projects, new forests, and funding to help more children get outdoors.
Zooming in on these promises more closely, the government have claimed the search for a new national park, which was originally a manifesto commitment, will begin in the new year. This announcement also comes alongside £15m being earmarked to support existing parks and landscapes.
In addition, the 34 new landscape recovery projects across England will cover 200,000 hectares of land, including woodlands, rainforests, and sustainable food production. Building on 22 of the schemes is already underway which aim to restore over 600km of rivers and protect habitats for at least 263 species.
With regard to encouraging more children to go outside, £2.5m has been distributed to help. The money is set to build on the success of the generation green project which created over 115,000 opportunities for children in the last four years. According to recent research, 18% of children living in the most deprived areas never spend time in any kind of natural space, which suggests this particular commitment is needed now more than ever.
Steve Barclay said: ‘Nature is at the foundation of food production, water security, and is critical to our economy, and our mental and physical health. It is why it is so important to deliver on our commitment to halt the decline of nature and safeguard at least 30% of our extraordinary landscapes.
‘Through our Environmental Improvement Plan and [yesterday’s] announcement, we are creating more opportunities for people to access nature, spend time outdoors and enjoy our beautiful countryside – as well as supporting wildlife.
‘A healthy natural environment is critical for our wellbeing, our economy and combatting climate change.’
Images: Ma Ti and Tobias Rademacher
One of our other PSN titles, Air Quality News is covering COP28 content in detail:
