Nature 2030 Launch Research and Report

Our Nature 2030 asks:

Wildlife and Countryside Link and a coalition of more than 70 nature charities launched a 5-point plan for nature on 18 July 2023. The coalition is calling on all political parties to put these proposals at the heart of their election manifestos to put the country on a path to nature's recovery by 2030, boost the green economy and improve the health and wellbeing of people across the country. 

The full details of the Nature 2030 policy proposals can be found in the report below.

• Nature_2030_Report_18.07.2023.pdf (2.56 MB)

Nature 2030 open letter 

The Nature 2030 campaign is encouraging members of the public to join our call for 5 ambitious asks for nature from political parties by signing up to an open letter to party leaders here

The full text of the letter can be found below.

• Open_Letter_Nature_2030_Campaign.pdf (103.44 KB)

Nature 2030 campaign supporters:

The Nature 2030 campaign is supported by Steve Backshall, Chris Packham, Megan McCubbin and Mya-Rose Craig alongside 70+ nature organisations who are jointly backing these calls to political parties, including:

A Rocha UK, Activity Alliance, Action for Elephants UK, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust, Badger Trust, Bat Conservation Trust, Beaver Trust, BIAZA, Born Free Foundation, British Canoeing, British Ecological Society, British Mountaineering Council, Bristol Tree Forum, Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, Campaign for National Parks, Campaign to Protect Rural England, ChemTrust, Chester Zoo, CIEEM, CIWEM, ClientEarth, Columban Missionaries Britain, Compassion in World Farming, Dartmoor Preservation Trust, EarthTrust, EarthWatch, EDGE, Environmental Investigation Agency, Fields in Trust, Fllodplain Meadows Partnership, Four Paws, Friends of the Earth, Freshwater Habitats Trust, Froglife, Global March For Elephants and Rhinos, Green Christian, Greenpeace, Groundwork UK, Hare Preservation Society, Humane Society International (UK), Intelligent Health, International Fund for Animal Welfare, John Muir Trust, Keep Britain Tidy, League Against Cruel Sports, Mammal Society, Marine Conservation Society, National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces, National Trust, Nature Premium, Nature Friendly Farming Network, Naturewatch Foundation, New Economic Forum, Oceana, Open Spaces Society, People's Trust for Endangered Species, Pesticide Action Network UK, Plantlife, Ramblers Association, Rewilding Britain, River Action UK, River Restoration Centre, Royal Society of Biology, RSPB, RSPCA, Scotland: the Big Picture, Sheepdrove, Sheffield Environmental Movement, Soil Association, SOS-UK, South Asians for Sustainability, Surfers Against Sewage, Sustain, Town and Country Planning Association, The Conservation Volunteers, The Land Trust, The Mammal Society, The Orchard Project, The Pesticide Collaboration, The Rivers Trust, The Wildlife Trusts, The Woodland Trust, The Woodmeadow Trust,  Trees & Design Action Group, UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, UK Youth For Nature, Unchecked.uk, Waterwise, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Wild Justice, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Wildland Research Institute, Wildlife & Countryside Link, WWF, Young Peoples Trust for the Environment, Zero Hour, Zoological Society of London

Nature 2030 research findings:

Wildlife and Countryside Link Commissioned polling from YouGov Plc into perceptions on environmental action from Government and attitudes towards the Nature 2030 policy policy proposals. Fieldwork was undertaken between 29-30 June 2023. The survey was carried out online. The total sample size was 2136 adults. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

The findings are summarised below with the full dataset available in the accompanying Excel spreadsheet.

• YouGov_Wildlife_and_Countryside_Link_Results_300623_N2030.xls (119.00 KB)

Government performance on environmental issues:

• Perceptions on Government performance in 8 key environmental areas were assessed: nature-friendly farming, restoring wildlife populations, encouraging environmental responsibility from big business, creating new green jobs, improving water quality, improving air quality, protecting and sufficiently funding publicly owned and protected nature sites.
  
  
• Only around 1 in 10 Brits think that the Government is performing well in these key environmental areas (8-13% depending on the nature issue, with between 38-61% saying they are faring badly, 17-27% saying they are doing neither well nor badly, and between 15-25% are unsure.)
  
  
• Even Conservative voters are unlikely to say the current Government is doing well on the environment, with a maximum of 21% saying the current administration is performing well on any key issue.
  
  
• The environmental issues where the current Government is perceived to be performing most badly are: water quality (61% say they are doing badly), encouraging greater environmental responsibility from businesses (49% say badly) supporting nature-friendly farming (47% say badly) and air quality (47% say badly)
  
  
• Conservative voters feel the Government is performing most badly on water quality – with 52% saying they are doing badly and only 9% say they are doing well, and encouraging nature friendly farming with 36% saying the Government is doing poorly and only 16% say they are doing well.
  

Government action and spend on the environment

• More than half of Brits (53%) say the government is not doing or spending enough on environmental issues, with only 13% saying they are getting the balance right, 13% saying it is doing and spending too much and 22% are unsure. Labour and Lib Dem voters feel strongly that there is a lack of ambition, with 73% and 78% of Brits respectively, saying not enough is being done or spent on the environment.
  

Support and opposition to the measures in the 5 point plan: 

• All five of the headline policies nature experts are proposing are well supported by the public, with support of 68% to 83% for each measure (with only between 4-10% of the public opposing any of the measures. Support Is very high across voters of all political stripes, but Is highest among the Lib Dems with support of 78-91% for the measures, compared to 71-86% for Labour voters and 63-83% of Conservative voters
  
  
• Making polluting businesses act more responsibly: is very popular, with 79% of Brits supporting legal requirements for environmental reporting and action plans from businesses, and 83% supporting requiring polluting businesses to pay to tackle the pollution they cause
  
  
• Creating more space for nature by 2030: Stronger protections and increased funding for publicly owned nature sites have 78% support, creation of new publicly owned nature spaces (76% support), granting more nature spaces legal protection (77% support), ensuring National Parks and AONBs have nature recovery as a key goal (75% support)
  
• A new law creating legally protected environmental rights to clean air, clean water and local access to nature has 75% support
  
  
• New green jobs: Increasing the number of green jobs in the country has 73% support
  
  
• Doubling the budget for nature-friendly farming schemes: has support from 68% of Brits overall and from 69% of Conservative voters, 71% of Labour voters and 78% of Lib Dem supporters.