This bill defines an "environmental recovery objective" by cross-reference to targets in the Environment Act 2021 and the Climate Change Act 2008 (including the adaptation programme) and establishes that objective as a principal consideration for a specified list of public bodies. It then requires those bodies, when exercising their functions, to "take all reasonable steps" to meet that objective.
The measure is intended to fold biodiversity recovery and climate adaptation into routine public decision-making by changing the legal hierarchy of objectives for regulators, agencies, infrastructure bodies, local authorities and Ministers. The statutory language is short and directive; the real effects will turn on how "reasonable steps" are interpreted, which bodies are covered by regulations, and how the duty interacts with existing statutory functions and resourcing.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill establishes a new statutory objective defined by contribution to targets in the Environment Act 2021 and the Climate Change Act 2008 and imposes a duty on named public bodies to take all reasonable steps to achieve it. The Secretary of State can add national park authorities by regulation and Ministers can add other public authorities by statutory instrument.
Who It Affects
The list covers core environmental agencies and regulators (for example, the Environment Agency, Natural England, Ofwat, Ofgem), national infrastructure bodies (Network Rail, National Highways, UK Infrastructure Bank), ministers and a broad set of English local authorities. The Secretary of State has power to expand the list and to specify which national park authorities are covered.
Why It Matters
By elevating environmental recovery to a principal objective, the bill can change decision-making priorities across planning, regulation, procurement and infrastructure delivery. The obligation is framed as a duty to "take all reasonable steps," which shifts the debate from goals to operational choices about compliance, resources and legal risk.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The bill begins by defining an "environmental recovery objective" as contributing to the achievement of targets set under the Environment Act 2021, targets under Part 1 of the Climate Change Act 2008, and delivery of the climate adaptation programme under section 58 of the Climate Change Act. That definition ties the new objective directly to existing statutory target frameworks rather than creating separate numeric targets in this Act itself.
Next, the measure makes that objective a principal objective for a specified set of public bodies and imposes a duty that each "relevant public body" must, in exercising its functions, take all reasonable steps to meet the environmental recovery objective. The phrase "take all reasonable steps" is deliberately open-ended; it creates a positive statutory imperative but leaves scope for bodies to determine what steps are reasonable in context, subject to legal norms and any later guidance or judicial interpretation.The bill contains an explicit list of relevant public bodies — ranging from the Forestry Commission, Environment Agency and Natural England to Ofwat, Ofgem, the Committee on Climate Change, National Highways, Network Rail, the UK Infrastructure Bank, ministers and various tiers of English local government — and it builds in two routes for expansion: regulations to specify which national park authorities are covered, and ministerial regulations to add other public authorities generally (with parliamentary approval required).
The statutory instrument route for additions uses affirmative parliamentary procedure.Finally, the Act applies to England and Wales and comes into force 90 days after passing. The text does not set out enforcement mechanisms, funding or detailed implementation steps; those practical elements would depend on administrative guidance, internal policies adopted by each public body, and possibly future secondary legislation or litigation to clarify the duty's scope.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill defines "environmental recovery objective" by reference to sections 1–3 of the Environment Act 2021, Part 1 of the Climate Change Act 2008, and the adaptation programme under section 58 of the Climate Change Act.
It imposes a statutory duty on listed public bodies to "take all reasonable steps" to meet the environmental recovery objective when exercising their functions.
The list of relevant public bodies in the bill explicitly names entities including the Environment Agency, Natural England, Forestry Commission, Ofwat, Ofgem, Network Rail, National Highways, the UK Infrastructure Bank, the Crown Estate, the Office for Environmental Protection and several nuclear and petroleum regulators.
The Secretary of State will specify which national park authorities are covered by regulation, and a Minister of the Crown may add other public authorities by statutory instrument — but any such instrument requires draft approval by both Houses.
The Act extends to England and Wales and will come into force 90 days after it is passed.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Defines the 'environmental recovery objective'
This provision does not set new numeric targets; it defines the statutory objective by reference to targets already established under the Environment Act 2021 and to obligations in the Climate Change Act 2008 (both mitigation targets and the adaptation programme). For implementers, that means the duty in this bill is tethered to existing target frameworks rather than to fresh, independently quantified targets.
Makes the environmental recovery objective a principal objective for listed public bodies
Section 2 elevates the objective to a 'principal objective' for the bodies named in subsection (2). Calling something a "principal objective" alters the interpretive lens for statutory decision-making: in future policy choices, regulators and authorities must give primacy to measures that further environmental recovery unless other duties explicitly prevent doing so.
Duty to take all reasonable steps
This clause creates the operative obligation: a relevant public body must "take all reasonable steps" to meet the objective when exercising its functions. The provision is short on detail; it creates a flexible standard that will be worked out through administrative guidance, internal procedures, and potentially by the courts if judicial review challenges arise over what counts as reasonable.
Who counts as a 'relevant public body' and how the list can change
The bill lists specific bodies (agencies, regulators, infrastructure bodies, Ministers and specified tiers of local government in England) and sets two mechanisms for adding more: regulations to specify national park authorities and ministerial regulations to add other public authorities. The requirement that any SI adding bodies be laid and approved by resolution of each House gives Parliament an affirmative control over expansions.
Territorial extent and commencement
The Act applies to England and Wales and comes into force 90 days after passage. There are no transitional provisions in the text, so covered bodies would need to interpret how the duty applies to ongoing projects and decisions made close to commencement.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Environment across all five countries.
Explore Environment in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Conservation and environmental NGOs — They gain a clear statutory hook to press public bodies to prioritise biodiversity recovery and climate adaptation in routine decision-making and to challenge failures through oversight or litigation.
- Regulators and agencies with environmental remits — Bodies such as the Environment Agency and Natural England obtain an express statutory mandate to prioritise environmental recovery, which can strengthen internal policy alignment and justify reallocating resources.
- Communities exposed to environmental risks — Local populations threatened by flooding, habitat loss or climate impacts may see stronger consideration of nature-based solutions and adaptation measures in planning and infrastructure choices.
- Nature-based sectors — Forestry, habitat restoration, and ecosystem services providers may find demand and procurement opportunities increase as public bodies align projects with the recovery objective.
Who Bears the Cost
- Local authorities (unitary, county, district, metropolitan and London boroughs) — They face new legal duties across planning, procurement and service delivery with little funding detail, increasing administrative and financial burdens.
- Economic regulators and infrastructure bodies (Ofwat, Ofgem, Network Rail, National Highways, UK Infrastructure Bank) — These organisations may have to reassess investment decisions and regulatory outputs to reflect the new objective, potentially delaying programmes or changing cost allocations.
- Ministers and central departments — Political leaders gain accountability for adding bodies and for national implementation while also carrying the practical burden of reconciling competing policy goals and securing resources.
- Taxpayers/public budgets — If public bodies need additional measures (restoration projects, adaptive infrastructure), costs may fall on constrained departmental and local government budgets without an evident funding mechanism in the bill.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is between legal elevation of environmental recovery — creating a clear, cross-cutting public duty — and the practical reality of competing statutory objectives, limited budgets and operational constraints: prioritising the environment in law helps solve the 'who cares' problem, but it creates new conflicts and uncertainties about what public bodies must do in practice and who pays for it.
The bill's core obligation — to "take all reasonable steps" — is legally potent because it is framed as a positive duty, but it is also highly indeterminate. What counts as reasonable will vary by function, statutory context and resource constraints; absent guidance or detailed secondary legislation, expect disputes over interpretation to be settled through administrative policy or judicial review rather than by the text itself.
Another tension arises from statutory layering. Many of the named bodies already have specific statutory objectives that can conflict with an elevated environmental recovery objective (for example, economic, safety or fiscal duties).
The bill does not provide rules for resolving direct clashes between this new principal objective and pre-existing statutory obligations, nor does it set out funding, timelines, or enforcement mechanisms. That omission shifts the burden of practical implementation to individual bodies and to political processes, increasing the possibility of uneven application and legal challenge.
Finally, the Act applies only to England and Wales, which could complicate cross-UK infrastructure and environmental programs and create governance frictions with devolved administrations and UK-wide regulators.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.