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

A Welsh Government Bill, introduced by Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, in June 2025. The Business Committee has remitted the Bill to the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee.

About the Bill

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).

Current Stage

BillStage1

The Bill is currently at Stage 1. An explanation of the various stages of Senedd Bills is available in the Guide to the Stages of Public Bills and Acts.

Record of Passage in the Welsh Parliament

The following table sets out the dates for each stage of the Bill’s passage through the Senedd.

¬¬¬Stage 1, Committee consideration of the general principles (Current)

The Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee will consider its approach to Stage 1 consideration on 4 June 2025.

Committee dates

The Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee will consider the Bill on the following dates:

Date and Agenda	Purpose of meeting	Transcript	Senedd.TV
4 June 2025	Consideration of approach to Stage 1 scrutiny	Private	Private
26 June 2025	Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs	Transcript	View meeting
9 July 2025	Evidence sessions	Transcript	View meeting
17 July 2025	Evidence sessions	Transcript	View meeting
18 September 2025	Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs	Transcript	View meeting

The Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee laid its report on 24 October 2025 (PDF 2542KB).

The Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee will consider the Bill on the following dates:

Date and Agenda	Purpose of meeting	Transcript	Senedd.TV
30 June 2025	Evidence session with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs	Transcript	View meeting