Environmental Weekly News Round Up - 13 October 2023

Over the last few weeks, we've seen both Labour and the Conservatives hold their annual conferences.  With the Conservative government cancelling HS2 and regressing on the country’s journey to net zero, the Labour party seem to be doubling down on their commitment to the protection of the environment, providing further help on reaching net zero and bringing into play GB Energy to deliver clean energy from a publicly owned energy company.

There appear to be clear dividing lines in approach when it comes to the environment - so what is new from the labour party conference?

Labour’s Climate and Nature Strategy 

On 8 October, Labour’s shadow DEFRA secretary, Steve Reed, addressed a fringe event at the Labour Conference which had been organised by the think tank Onward.  He discussed the re-evaluation of a proposed climate and nature assessment which had been announced by the former shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon.  When responding to questions by reporters Steve Reed recognised that the party “does not yet have a comprehensive approach to nature” but said that he saw it as his job over the next year to develop it.

Whilst a review is a common step in policy refinement could the comments made be an indication of a potential roll back or even shelving of the initiative altogether?

The essence of a “climate and nature” policy is that it acts as a filter through which all of the party’s decision would pass ensuring that each action is in alignment with environmental sustainability and nature preservation. Instead of isolated green initiatives every policy whether in transport, education or health, would inherently uphold environmental standards.  A consistent approach ensures that all governmental activities work together towards a greener future.  Any proposed economic and infrastructural developments would have to be weighed against their environmental impact striking a balance between growth and sustainability.   A dedicated focus on climate would lead to more rigorous efforts in reducing carbon emissions across sectors, accelerating the country’s path to carbon neutrality. Another advantage to having a “climate and nature” policy from an economic perspective is that by taking early action against climate risks and integrating sustainability into the core of governance, the UK would be better equipped to handle future environmental challenges, ensuring economic stability.

There is no doubt that having a climate and nature test that is applied consistently through all government departments would be an ambitious approach and there are limited governments globally that have pursued a comprehensive policy framework of this kind.  The climate and nature test undeniably has benefits and longer-term advantages for the environment and nature.  

Great British Nuclear – Next stage in Small Modular Reactors

Great British Nuclear (GBN) is the brand new arm-length body dedicated to drive a rapid expansion of new nuclear power plants in the UK. GBN is currently overseeing a competition process to select manufacturing companies that will receive government funding to develop Small Modular Reactors (SMR) technologies.

Earlier this month, the SMR designs of six companies were selected to advance to next phase of the SMR competition. The selected companies are: 

1. EDF
2. GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy International LLC
3. Holtec Britain Limited
4. NuScale Power
5. Rolls Royce SMR 
6. Westinghouse Electric Company UK Limited.

Notably, an alliance seems to have been forged between Westinghouse and Rolls Royce, as Westinghouse –a leading supplier of nuclear fuel– announced on 11 October an agreement to develop the fuel design of Rolls Royce’s SMR. More information is available here.

The main reason these six companies were selected is because their designs were considered as the most able to deliver operational SMRs by the mid-2030s. 

These companies will be invited to bid for bid for government contracts later in 2023. The successful companies will be announced in Spring 2024, and contracts will be awarded in Summer 2024. Based on the government’s press release, this competition will be the “fastest of its kind in the world”.

According to the government, one of the reasons for focusing on SMR technologies is because “Unlike conventional nuclear reactors that are built on site, SMRs are smaller, can be made in factories, and could transform how power stations are built by making construction faster and less expensive.”

As SMRs are expected to be in place by mid-2030s, unfortunately the results of this competition will not assist in achieving the UK’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, as established in the UK’s National Determined Contribution. Nevertheless, the promotion of nuclear energy is in line with the government’s ambition to deliver up to 24GW of nuclear power by 2050 and will be helpful to achieve the final goal of achieving net zero by 2050.

Biodiversity and the party conferences

Biodiversity has been in the property news a lot lately as the Conservatives made a last-minute delay to the introduction of the mandatory 10% biodiversity net gain (BNG) on all large domestic, commercial, and mix-use sites. The target will now be in force from January 2024, but the topic didn’t crop up much this conference season. 

Biodiversity is the variety of all life on earth and is essential in supporting a healthy ecosystem. The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world and 41 per cent of all UK species have declined since the 1970s. It is therefore hoped BNG could significantly support nature recovery. 

While Labour pledged to build 1.5 million new homes at their conference, they were seemingly quietly on how nature may be protected or enhanced while doing so. Likewise, Conservatives were quiet on the topic of biodiversity, but Sunak did insist the country would still meet its international obligations and statutory target to reach net zero by 2050, despite recent rollbacks. Perhaps this means the Conservatives and Labour are happy with the current BNG proposals and timescale, and do not envisage any need to further amend or delay the proposals.  

In contrast, the Liberal Democrats announced at their conference they would increase biodiversity net gain requirements. The currently length of time a net gain habitat will need to be maintained is 30 years, which the Lib Dems would increase to 120 years. They also said they would increase the requirement for major developments up to 100% in larger greenfield sites. 

Ruth Jones: Resource Efficiency Targets & Labour’s Opposition to Waste Exports

The Labour Party has previously pledged ‘to debate the next frontier of human rights’ including the right to clean air, should it win the next general election. 

At the Green Alliance event, shadow DEFRA Minister Ruth Jones said, ‘getting to grips on waste reforms is a real priority for Labour.’

She went on to argue that the UK should not be exporting waste or sending it to Turkey, and that this should be done internally. 

There are hints at what a Labour Government might to, as Jones argued that the current Government is too focused on the waste problem, and not enough on using resources efficiently. The shadow minister argued that the UK needs a proper circular action economy plan. 

Jones argued that the current economy is ‘stuck in a linear mindset where the full cost of the environmental impacts is not factored in’. this means that longer-lasting high-quality products are undercut by cheap, and poor-quality goods. 

However, Labour have not made a commitment to a new Environment Act. 

Jones did mention this, and went on to say that through ‘secondary legislation’ new targets may be put in. 

Green Alliance viewed Jones’ comments in a positive light, Libby Peake, the head of resources stated: ‘The Government has repeatedly failed to address our take-make-throw economy, so it is encouraging to hear the shadow Defra secretary show she gets it.’

‘The next Government has the opportunity to change direction’. 

 The hope for Green Alliance, is that powers are used to improve products, so that they use less material to set overarching targets to reduce resource use.