Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill - our response

Friends of the Earth Cymru support the general principles of the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill to establish an Office for Environmental Governance in Wales (OEGW), environmental principles duty and a requirement for targets to protect and restore biodiversity. 

Across Wales, our rivers, lakes and seas are being poisoned by sewage and other pollutants. Our land is littered with contaminated ex-industrial sites, leaky landfills and toxic waste dumps. And companies are walking away from opencast coal mines, without doing the restoration they promised.  

Polluters have been getting away with this for too long. Wales has been without a permanent environmental governance body since Brexit. It is the last country in the UK to get one – and never has it been more needed. Our wildlife is in crisis, with 1 in 5 species are at risk of extinction. And a growing body of evidence is showing that polluted air, toxic land and dirty water are impacting on human health too.  

While this draft bill is extremely welcome, it is also vital that it is clarified, strengthened, and implemented at pace. Ambitious targets must be set as soon as possible to reduce pollution, improve ecosystems and reverse the decline in species. Our environmental governance body must be strong and independent, and environmental principles such as polluter pays must be widely applied.