The Government has published its revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) which sets out an ambitious five-year roadmap to tackle the nature and climate crisis, improve public health, and support sustainable growth.

The plan is being supported with new headline commitments and funding, including:

• £500 million for Landscape Recovery projects, bringing together farmers and land managers to restore nature at scale, creating wildlife-rich environments, reducing flood risk and improving water quality while unlocking economic opportunities through green jobs and nature-based solutions that support rural prosperity
• £85 million to improve and restore peatlands, reducing flooding in communities, improving water quality and supporting public health through cleaner air and enhanced access to green spaces for physical and mental wellbeing. This comes alongside £3 million to improve access to nature in Public Forest Estates through facilities including accessible bike trails and all-terrain mobility equipment.
• First-ever plan to reduce risks from ‘forever chemicals’ (PFAS) to health and the environment, with a review of sewage sludge spreading rules to ensure sustainable practices
• New Trees Action Plan and measures to reduce damaging methane emissions, particularly from agriculture, alongside exploring new domestic combustion measures to drive climate progress
• Environment Act target delivery plans published for the first time, providing clear progress tracking and fixing the lack of rigour in the previous plan

People across England will benefit from cleaner air and water under the strengthened plan to restore the natural environment, the Government says.

Nature will be boosted with a quarter of a million hectares of wildlife-rich habitats created or restored by 2030 – an area larger than Greater London. This is 110,000 hectares of habitat more than had been previously committed, supporting our aims for a healthier environment, which is essential to growth.  

A new target to halve the presence of damaging invasive species compared to 25 years ago will protect native wildlife and farmers’ livelihoods. This will help prevent new invasive species from becoming established and manage existing invaders like the American Signal Crayfish and Japanese Knotweed. 

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said:  

“Our environment faces real challenges, with pollution in our waterways, air quality that’s too low in many areas, and treasured species in decline. 

“This plan marks a step change in restoring nature. Our ambitious targets are backed by real action to cut harmful air pollutants, revive habitats and protect the environment for generations to come.”

The publication follows wider government action on nature and biodiversity, including the reintroduction of beavers to the wild, a commitment to end bee-killing pesticides, and the launch of two National Forests.

Government will now work with individuals, communities, farmers, businesses and local authorities to deliver the plan, driving economic growth through green jobs and innovation while ensuring future generations benefit from a greener and more prosperous country.

The wide-ranging legally binding Environment Act targets include: 

• Restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitats outside protected sites by 2042 
• Ensure that at least 70% of protected features in Marine Protected Areas are in favourable condition by the end of 2042, with the remainder in recovering condition 
• Halve the length of rivers polluted by harmful metals from abandoned metal mines by 2038, against a baseline of 1,491 km
• Reduce total nitrogen, total phosphorus and sediment pollution from agriculture into the water environment by at least 40% by 2038, compared to a 2018 baseline 
• Reduce phosphorus loadings from treated wastewater by 80% by 2038 against a 2020 baseline 
• Reduce the use of public water supply in England per head of population by 20% by 2038 from a 2019 to 2020 baseline 

Environment Agency Chief Executive Philip Duffy commented:

"The Environment Agency welcomes the revised Environmental Improvement Plan. We’ve worked closely with Defra to make this Plan more streamlined and delivery-focused, with greater emphasis on Environment Act targets.

"We are responsible for 50 of the over 300 actions, many focused on water quality. We’re ensuring water companies comply with permits and reduce storm overflow pollution, whilst supporting farmers through more inspections to give them better advice. We’ll also help restore England’s rare chalk streams and continue our work to tackle PFAS pollution.

The plan complements our EA2030 strategy which prioritises delivery for the public and our environment.”

Water demand interim targets

Alomngside the Statutory Environment Act target of reducing the use of public water supply in England per head of population by 20% by 2038 from a 2019 to 2020 baseline, the Government has published a policy paper setting two interim targets:

Public water supply:

reduce the use of public water supply in England per head of population by 9% by 31 March 2027 and by 14% by 31 March 2032 from a 2019 to 2020 baseline

Leakage:

reduce leakage by 20% by 31 March 2027 and by 30% by 31 March 2032 from a 2017 to 2018 baseline

The Government says the interim targets are ambitious and will help achieve the long-term target, pointing out that the targets have been largely adopted by the industry and form a key basis of water companies’ Water Resource Management Plans (WRMPs).

Key planned/anticipated milestones to reaching the interim targets are as follows.

Key milestones for 2025 include:

• water companies begin or continue rolling out approximately 10.4 million smart meters (2025 to 2030)
• Ofwat’s Smart Water Metering Delivery Group launched to consider Baringa report recommendations
• consultation on Building Regulations goes out and government response published

Key milestones for 2026 include:

• secondary legislation laid for Mandatory water efficiency labelling scheme (MWELS)
• MWELS and, subject to consultation outcome, amended water efficiency standards in Building Regulations are laid
• anticipated that consultation on Minimum Product Standards will be launched
• review of water reuse regulation and wasteful product issues with toilets (2026 to 2027)
• consultation on water recycling and drainage standards (2026 to 2027)

Key milestones for 2027/28 include:

anticipated launch of consultation on Minimal Impact Product standards

Click here to download the Environmental Improvement Plan

Click here to access the Policy paper Water demand Environment Act target delivery plan