The chairs of England’s three environmental bodies have responded to the Committee on Climate Change’s (CCC) land use report published today by outlining a shared vision and practical actions to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergencies.

In a landmark commitment, Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency; Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England; and Sir Harry Studholme, Chair of the Forestry Commission; have pledged to work together to deliver nature-based solutions to climate change, helping the government meet its ambition to reach net zero by 2050.

The CCC report Land Use: Policies for a Net Zero UK report, presents a range of options to reduce the UK’s carbon footprint, including through nature-based solutions such as tree planting, peatland restoration, and low-carbon farming practices.

The Environment Agency, Forestry Commission and Natural England have committed to collaborating their responses to the climate and biodiversity emergencies by:

Delivering large-scale woodland creation – fulfilling the government’s plans to increase tree planting rates up to 30,000 hectares per year, across the UK, by 2025 – working closely with devolved authorities, communities and landowners – and ensuring that new and existing woodland is based on the right trees in the right place and is properly managed. Meeting the tree-planting commitment will help to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, while also providing habitats for wildlife, better soil health and water retention, and recreational benefits.

Protecting and restoring peatlands – peatlands have a vital part to play in tackling climate change, storing more carbon than all other types of vegetation in the world combined, and damage to peatlands is a major source of carbon emissions. Natural England is actively restoring peatland on sites that it owns or manages and is supporting other landowners and managers in restoration. The government’s England Peat Strategy will be published in the spring, and we will implement its measures to protect and restore our precious peatland.

Supporting farmers towards net zero – working alongside the government in the development and delivery of the Environmental Land Management scheme, which will reward farmers for delivering public goods such as supporting wildlife and tackling climate change.

Working with nature to manage flood risk – climate change is already causing more frequent and intense flooding. Alongside traditional flood defences, by planting trees, building leaky dams and restoring natural habitats such as wetlands, sand dunes and salt marsh, we can use nature to reduce the impact of floods while removing carbon from the atmosphere and improving habitats for wildlife. This is already an important part of the Environment Agency’s draft FCRM strategy, and the Forestry Commission and Natural England will play a part in delivering this.

Taking a strategic approach to land use – ensuring that nature-based solutions are used in places where they can be most effective, avoiding potential adverse impacts on the environment and communities, while also ensuring that developments in renewable energy and other infrastructure do not mean compromising on nature-based solutions. In other words, we will seek ways to go low carbon in our energy while at the same time going ‘high wildlife’.

Encouraging alternatives to carbon intensive materials – promoting and encouraging the use of timber products for construction and other industries will mean a move away from carbon intensive materials such as concrete and steel. This means that there is the potential to store millions of tonnes of carbon in the UK’s new and refurbished homes simply through the use of different building materials and techniques.

Pushing for action across the UK and abroad – we cannot act alone.

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

“As we’re seeing with tragic bushfires in Australia and some of the extreme weather in the UK over the past few years, the climate emergency can no longer be underestimated. We must do everything we can to not only tackle climate change, but also adapt to its impacts, including the increased risk of drought and flooding here in the UK.”

“Building hard flood and coastal defences will always be important, but as our draft FCRM strategy shows, natural solutions like restoring wetlands to store flood water and planting trees to hold water in the soil will play an increasingly important role in the future – all whilst taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.”

Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, said that given the scale of the challenge, a joined-up approach that embraces nature’s recovery is not an optional extra, but must be central to the whole plan.

“And just as individual organisations cannot deliver the scale of change needed on their own, neither can individual nations, which is why we must seize the opportunity of COP26 in Glasgow to agree ambitious global action with nature based solutions at its heart,” he added.

According to Sir Harry Studholme, Chair of the Forestry Commission, public interest in trees has never been higher - the climate emergency has highlighted the role forests play in absorbing carbon dioxide.

The Commission is encouraging farmers and land managers to invest in tree-planting, and through schemes such as its recently launched Woodland Carbon Guarantee is making sure climate change is tackled through nature-based solutions, while also providing a long term financial incentive to increase their carbon capture.

Sir Harry Studholme continued:

“But, while the importance of planting more trees cannot be underestimated, it is also vital that we nurture and manage our woods to allow them to thrive to the fullest extent. Working hand in hand with the government and England’s other environmental bodies gives us the perfect opportunity to deliver on our vision and help with our journey to reach net zero by 2050.”