Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill

The Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill (“the Bill”) has been referred to the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee (“the Committee”) for Stage 1 scrutiny of the general principles of the Bill.

 

According to the Welsh Government, The aim of the environmental principles provisions is to establish a robust framework for environmental governance in Wales. This framework seeks to addresses three core challenges: combating the combined impact of climate and nature emergencies, protecting the environment from harm, and responding to changes in environmental governance structures following the UK's departure from the EU.

 

The key purposes of the Bill are to:

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>>>Establish certain environmental principles and an environmental objective. It will require the Welsh Ministers and NRW, when making policy, and certain other public authorities, when carrying out environmental assessment under the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes (Wales) Regulations 2004 (or any corresponding provision replacing those Regulations), to apply the principles, and to integrate environmental protection.

>>>Establish an independent environmental governance body, the Office of Environmental Governance Wales (“the OEGW”) to provide strategic oversight of requirements on public authorities to: comply with environmental law; make effective environmental law; implement / apply environmental law effectively; and to hold those public authorities to account, in a similar way to the Office for Environmental Protection  established by the Environment Act 2021.

>>>Amend the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 to establish a biodiversity target setting framework aimed at halting and reversing the decline in biodiversity in Wales, as well as imposing a duty on the Welsh Ministers to promote awareness in Wales of the importance of, and the threats to, biodiversity.

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Further details about the Bill (PDF 413KB) can be found in its accompanying Explanatory Memorandum (PDF 2.2MB).

 

To help inform its scrutiny, the Committee is seeking views on:

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>>>The general principles of the Bill and the need for legislation to deliver the stated policy intention;

>>>The Bill’s provisions, including whether they are workable and will deliver the stated policy intention:

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***Environmental objective and principles (Part 1 sections 1 to 7)

***The Office of Environmental Governance Wales (Part 2 sections 8 to 32 and Schedules 1, 2 and 3).

***Biodiversity targets, etc (Part 3 sections 33 to 38)

***General (Part 4 sections 39 to 45 and Schedule 4)

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>>>Any potential barriers to the implementation of the Bill’s provisions and whether the Bill takes account of them;

>>>The appropriateness of the powers in the Bill for Welsh Ministers to make subordinate legislation (set out in Chapter 5 of Part 1 of the Explanatory Memorandum).

>>>Whether there are any unintended consequences arising from the Bill; and

>>>The financial implications of the Bill (as set out in Part 2 of the Explanatory Memorandum).

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Submitting your views

The Committee would like to invite you to submit written evidence to assist in its consideration of the Bill.

 

We would like you to submit your views by completing this online form.

 

A downloadable template is available for you to draft your response before submitting it, if you wish. However, please do not submit your response on that template via email. Responses should be submitted via the online form.

 

We are keen to hear from as many people and organisations as possible. If you would like to submit your views but do not want/are not able to complete the online form, please write to the Committee (SeneddClimate@senedd.wales) and the Committee’s clerks can arrange with you a different way for your voice to be heard. The Committee’s postal address and telephone number can be found at the end of the consultation page.

 

The closing date for submission to this consultation is 30 July 2025.

 

Please refer to the Bill page for further details and up-to-date information on the Bill.

 

Providing Written Evidence

The Senedd has two official languages, Welsh and English.

 

In line with the Senedd’s Official Languages Scheme, the Committee welcomes contributions in both or either of our official languages, and we ask organisations that are subject to Welsh Language standards or schemes to respond in line with their own obligations. Please inform the Committee when submitting responses if you intend to provide a translation at a later date.

 

Please see guidance for those providing evidence for committees.

 

Disclosure of information

Please ensure that you have considered the Senedd’s policy on disclosure of information before submitting information to the Committee.