When I look back to 2016, and the eve of the EU Referendum, I dared to dream that our future could be one where we are thriving alongside abundant nature.
I had hopes that, a decade later, ecosystem services would be celebrated – from the bees and butterflies pollinating our food crops, to wetlands and peatlands protecting us from flooding and drought, storing carbon, and purifying the water we drink. Treasury and boardrooms alike would be alive with talk of sustainable, wildlife-rich supply chains fit for the future. Government policies and frameworks would drive investment, innovation and pride in the environment we owe so much to. Nature would be universally accepted as our critical infrastructure.
This has – of course – not come to pass. Despite the wealth of evidence that nature is the bedrock of both our flourishing economy and national security, governments of all colours have falsely promised that rolling back on environmental protections will kickstart growth. The EU referendum result, and the choices on Brexit that followed, turned out to be the genesis of a fresh wave of damaging deregulation, which continues to this day.
Our environmental standards – and with them the future of much-loved species from bottlenose dolphins and puffins to butterflies and hedgehogs – have slipped behind that of our EU counterparts in the 10 years since Brexit.
And, as a new report from The Wildlife Trusts has so plainly set out, we are all far poorer for it.
Lowered housebuilding standards have stripped communities of green spaces, chemicals have poisoned people, and cuts to regulator budgets – and subsequent unchecked pollution - has choked the life from our rivers, farmland and seas. A slew of cabinet members, chancellors and prime ministers falsely taking aim at bats and newts has not just gotten tiresome, it has become destructive to the world we live and work in.
If the warnings from the Green Finance Institute and leading voices from the Joint Intelligence Committee weren’t enough, last week’s terrifying record temperatures were a clear signal: the nature and climate crises are continuing at pace. Slashing environmental regulation in a bid to boost growth is the economic equivalent of choosing a shot of whisky over a bottle of water to stay hydrated in the heat – tempting in the short term, disastrous in the long term.
Many businesses of course grasp this much better than ministers. All too often though we have seen the ambitions and support for environmental progress by forward-looking businesses quickly turning to frustration at the chopping and changing by governments obsessed by deregulation.
We saw it with Biodiversity Net Gain – a once promising driver of nature-rich developments which built in community greenspaces, wildlife habitats and climate resilience from the offset – when ambitions were delayed and later watered down. Across our farmed landscape, the various agricultural subsidy schemes of the devolved nations have failed to provide the stability and assurances to enable farmers to fully transition to nature-friendly business models. The potential of private sector funding to further boost this revolution in our fields has not yet been realised as a result. And, at sea, the Government has stalled support to fishers in addressing the bycatch crisis that is needlessly killing thousands of dolphins, whales, seals and seabirds each year. An opportunity to create and deploy innovative new solutions that put an end to this heartbreaking problem in UK seas continues to be missed.
It’s clear that over the last ten years, while ministers have grabbed brief headlines about cutting ‘red tape’, nature has declined, climate risks have grown and people have seen their lives get worse.
Conversely, it is striking to note that the lead contender to be the next Prime Minister has gone on the record to attack “40 years of very damaging deregulation.” As we find ourselves at this point of inflection, with both the ten-year anniversary of the EU referendum and a change in Downing Street ahead, now is the time for businesses to join the ranks and call for an end to attacks on the laws that protect nature, people and the economy.
In this summer of leaderboards, there is a real risk that, as one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, the real leaderboard – that of environmental success – will continue to slip away from us without action.
By setting out from experience how good regulation can be the trellis around which secure, lasting growth can flourish, businesses can help us change course after a damaging decade.
After all, ‘Bigger, better, more joined up’ - a phrase coined by Sir John Lawton’s Making Space for Nature review which describes the best way to restore wild habitats - applies equally to the worlds of environmentalism and green business. A healthy environment which boosts our resilience, underpins our supply chains, and creates happier, healthier people requires us to work and advocate together, especially on the critical issue of defending regulation.
The promises of a ‘Green Brexit’ may have quickly turned to grey, but ten years later the business community have an enormous opportunity turn the tide on environmental damage. Together we must build a new legacy - a bigger, better and more joined up course of action, founded on good regulation, for the species, habitats and ecosystems we all depend on to succeed.