Four years ago, the Senedd declared a nature emergency. Following its 2024 White Paper, the Welsh Government has introduced a Bill that aims to turn the tide on biodiversity decline. The Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill makes three key proposals to:
- embed environmental principles into law to underpin future policy decision-making;
- establish a permanent environmental governance body which would hold public authorities to account on environmental law; and
- introduce a statutory framework for legally binding biodiversity targets.
The Senedd’s Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure (CCEI) Committee has scrutinised the general principles of the Bill at Stage 1 of the legislative process. On 24 October it published its report. It has asked for a response from the Welsh Government before the Stage 1 debate on Tuesday 11 November.
This article explores the Committee’s key findings across the Bill’s three substantive parts, ahead of the Senedd’s Stage 1 debate.
For further background information, and a summary of the Bill’s provisions, see Senedd Research’s Bill Resources Page.
Environmental principles could be stronger and broader
Part 1 of the Bill sets out an overarching environmental objective and establishes four core environmental principles: the precautionary principle, prevention, rectification at source, and the polluter pays principle. These are intended to guide future policy and law-making in Wales.
The Committee and stakeholders welcomed the inclusion of these principles, with a prominent Swansea university academic saying:
The environmental principles underlined law and policy making in the EU, which almost exclusively directed approaches to environmental protection in Wales, for more than 40 years. … it is important that these principles are maintained.
However, the Committee heard concerns about the scope and strength of the duties placed on the Welsh Ministers and public authorities, particularly noting:
- Welsh Ministers’ duty to have “special regard” to the principles applies only to policies that “have or could have an effect on the environment”, which risks excluding policies with indirect or unforeseen environmental impacts, giving considerable discretion to future Ministers;
- the term “policy” is undefined, creating uncertainty about which documents and decisions are covered; and
- the duty on public authorities isn’t strong enough and limited to Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs), which do not capture the full range of environmental decision-making.
The Bill proposes the Welsh Ministers must publish a statement outlining how the principles are connected, and guidance to help public authorities apply them. This statement would be reviewed “from time to time”. WWF Cymru expressed concern that “if a weak statement is put in place, a subsequent Government might, for convenience, just never change it…”.
To address these issues, the Committee recommends:
- extending the duty on Welsh Ministers to all policy-making, not just explicitly environment policies;
- clarifying the meaning of “policy” through a non-exhaustive list in the Bill;
- strengthening the duty on public authorities to apply the principles more broadly across their functions; and
- reviewing the environmental principles statement once every Senedd.
Securing a well-resourced and independent watchdog
Part 2 of the Bill proposes the creation of the Office of Environmental Governance Wales (OEGW), a new independent watchdog tasked with overseeing public authority compliance with, and implementation of, environmental law.
The Committee strongly supports the establishment of the OEGW, describing it as “long overdue” and essential to closing the post-EU “governance gap”. Stakeholders were also supportive, although several wanted reassurance that the body could act effectively and independently, and would be set up as a priority.
Environmental Standards Scotland, the Scottish watchdog, said the express provision on its independence in Scottish law had proven an “invaluable safeguard”.
Healthy Air Cymru was concerned that the Bill’s provisions on funding “do not provide the certainty of resourcing that the OEGW will need”, whilst the Office for Environmental Protection (England and Northern Ireland’s watchdog) said its statutory funding provisions “had been very helpful for us to ensure that independence is respected”.
Acting on stakeholder concerns, the Committee recommended:
- express provision guaranteeing the OEGW’s independence from the Welsh Government, similar to safeguards in the equivalent UK and Scottish Acts;
- appointments to the OEGW be subject to Senedd approval, or involve a substantive role for the relevant Senedd committee;
- including provisions to ensure “sufficiency of funding” for the OEGW, protecting it from future budgetary constraints; and
- proposing a “sunrise clause” requiring all provisions in Part 2 to come into force within two years of Royal Assent.
Greater urgency and ambition needed on biodiversity targets
Between 1994 and 2023, the population of Wales’ monitored species fell by 20%. Part 3 of the Bill seeks to address this by introducing a framework for biodiversity targets.
Whilst the Committee considered the framework a “vital opportunity” to address biodiversity loss, it found the proposals insufficiently urgent and ambitious. The Committee was concerned by:
- the absence of a headline target for biodiversity recovery (equivalent to the 2050 ‘net zero’ climate target), such as the Global Biodiversity Framework’s 2050 vision;
- a 3-year timeframe for setting initial targets, which it described as “excessive and unnecessary”;
- a lack of specificity on target duration, raising concerns about short-termism; and
- the proposal for Government-set targets to only apply to designated public authorities, rather than the public sector more generally.
Reiterating its January 2025 nature report, the Committee proposes the addition of a ‘headline’ 2050 target, and a 2035 ‘species abundance target’. Dr Victoria Jenkins argued that a headline target “captures the public imagination”, and the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) supported a “longer term vision, as is implemented in ‘carbon budgets’ towards Net Zero”. RSPB Cymru said a 2035 target for halting the decline of species’ abundance “would act as a ‘north star’ – giving an indication of the scale and pace of change required to set biodiversity on a path to recovery”.
The 3-year timeframe was widely criticised as unambitious by stakeholders – Wales Environment Link said:
…it would be unacceptable to delay target setting to a point where no measurable progress could be made by 2030.
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee, who the Welsh Government commissioned to support target development, said “experience and evidence suggests that targets can be developed within a tight 12-month timetable”. The CCEI Committee recommend halving the implementation deadline, so targets would be set within 18 months of Royal Assent.
The Committee supported the UK Environmental Law Association’s call to insert a general duty on public authorities to contribute towards the biodiversity targets, as opposed to the designation framework outlined by the Welsh Government.
Next steps
The Committee supports the general principles of the Bill, while highlighting areas for improvement to drive a greener future for Wales.
On Tuesday 11 November, the Senedd will vote on whether to support the general principles of the Bill. If passed, it will be subject to amendments at Stage 2.
You can watch the debate live on Senedd TV on 11 November or read the transcript shortly afterwards.
Article by Dr Matthew Sutton, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
