A Bill to recognise Nature as a legal subject; establish and protect the rights of Nature; establish a legal duty of care for public bodies, businesses, and individuals; provide procedural rights for the protection of Nature; establish an Integrated Rights Framework; establish mechanisms for dispute resolution and legal enforcement; make provision about Parliamentary scrutiny; establish a Nature Guardianship Council and Bioregional Councils; establish a Nature’s Rights Tribunal; create a governance structure for implementation and integration; provide for phased implementation and periodic review; ensure compliance with international environmental obligations; promote public awareness and education; and for connected purposes.
House of Lords
3 June 2026
May contain errors — check source documents for definitive information.
The Nature’s Rights Bill would recognise Nature as a rights-bearing legal subject and create an Integrated Rights Framework to guide laws, policy and economic activity within ecological limits. It would establish new bodies to oversee rights, require Rights Impact Assessments for proposed decisions, and provide enforcement tools to protect and restore nature, with phased implementation and regular parliamentary reporting.
The bill has been introduced in the Lords and is at the 2nd Reading stage. The document trail records the 1st Reading on 1 June 2026 and outlines core features, but there are no public records of amendments or committee recommendations yet.
Generated 2 June 2026
1 Jun 2026
First reading took place on 1 June. This stage is a formality that signals the start of the bill's journey through the Lords.
What happens next?
Second reading - the general debate on all aspects of the bill - is yet to be scheduled.
The Nature’s Rights Bill would recognise Nature as a rights-bearing legal subject and introduce an Integrated Rights Framework to ensure ecological integrity and safe ecological limits guide law, policy and economic activity. It creates new governance bodies (the Nature Guardianship Council, Bioregional Councils and the Nature’s Rights Tribunal), requires Rights Impact Assessments for proposed decisions, and allows designation of Nature Designated Entities with enforcement tools such as restoration and regeneration orders and penalties. It also requires reviews and alignment of existing laws, guarantees public participation (including for overseas UK activity), and mandates phased implementation with annual reporting to Parliament.
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
