The Environment Bill is heading back to the House of Commons, having being amended significantly by the Lords.
Peers have made 14 amendments to the Bill, in the face of stiff Government opposition, which include demands to:
The Government is now under pressure to get the Bill passed, having previously said it would be law before COP 26 which begins on 31 October in Glasgow. Recently, environment minister Lord Goldsmith suggested delaying the Bill could mean "weakening our hand in these extraordinarily important climate and environment negotiations". Time is running out as both the House of Commons and House of Lords have to agree any changes to the Bill before it can become law.
The Bill, which was published back in 2019, aims to improve air and water quality, tackle plastic pollution, restore wildlife, and protect the climate. It also sets up a new independent watchdog - the Office for Environmental Protection - which would monitor progress on improving the environment.
Green peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb said the legislation was, when it arrived in the Lords, "a terrible Bill".
"That is why we so heavily amended it," she added and urged Lord Goldsmith to "make sure" his colleagues in the Commons "take out very few, if any, or our amendments".
Hot off the press!
On 19 October, the Government rejected the vast majority of amendments introduced by the Lords to the Environment Bill, including those on the governance of the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), but conceded to a proposal on single-use products.
