Ecology Bill [HL]

Key Points

• The core aim is to set and achieve a national nature target by the government.
• Amendments seek to replace climate-and-nature targets with a single nature target and make the objective singular.
• Many changes strip back references to climate targets, strategy content, and implementation details.
• Several clauses were proposed to be removed or not stand part, showing cross-party tension over breadth and ambition.
• Liberal Democrat peers in the Lords sought to narrow the bill; some amendments were agreed in Committee, while others remain points of contention for the Commons.

Progress

Originated in the Lords and moved to the Commons, where it is at the 2nd Reading stage. In the Lords, a batch of amendments aimed at narrowing scope and changing terminology was agreed in Committee; the bill’s future depends on Commons scrutiny and potential further changes.