The Government’s green polices have been handed a ‘red card’ by the Environmental Audit Committee, who is calling for an overarching Environmental Strategy be implemented.
In a new report, the Committee assessed the government’s efforts to reduce air pollution, prevent flooding and protect biodiversity during this parliament.
It found failings in several policies, such as the number of airborne pollutants increasing in 2013 and 2.4 million properties still being at risk of flooding.
The report calls for an Environmental Strategy to be implemented, and an Office for Environmental Responsibility to be set up to oversee it.
Chair of the committee, Joan Walley MP, said: ‘Effective action on environmental protection is essential, both during the current Parliament and beyond. Parties should therefore be considering credible environmental protection in their manifestos. I want them to use our report as both a wake-up call and a template for the measured that need to be put forward.
‘Consistent action by successive Governments will help ensure that the benefits of nature are available to future generations as much as they are to ours.’
