Climate News: Backlash as Rachel Reeves threatens to strip back environmental protections to speed up developments

In a bid to accelerate infrastructure building and boost the economy, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is drafting a new reform bill that would make it increasingly difficult for wildlife concerns to delay developments. 

 Green groups argue that the government’s planning reforms break manifesto promises to protect and restore the nation’s natural environment. Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said that Labour promised to restore nature, yet “The Chancellor is leading an ideological charge against the natural world despite it being the very foundation of the economy, society, and people’s health.” 

 If passed, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill would override existing habitat and nature protections, allowing developers to make general environmental improvements or pay into a nature restoration fund. The Office for Environmental Protection watchdog warns that the Bill represents a “regression” in environmental law, removing safeguards for nature.  

[Reeves] said it was time to “stop worrying about the bats and the newts” and believes the government must go further in removing protections

Reeves is considering abolishing the EU “precautionary principle”, which requires developers to prove projects will not harm protected sites. Instead, risks and benefits would be weighed. The Times also reported that she is planning a smaller UK-only list of protected species, giving less weight to wildlife common in Britain but rare across Europe. 

 The Chancellor is exploring limits on legal challenges from campaigners. In Oxford, she said it was time to “stop worrying about the bats and the newts” and believes the government must go further in removing protections. Yet, the government’s own assessment of the Bill found little evidence that green laws block development. Paul Miner of The Countryside Charity (CPRE) warned that targeting habitat regulations would “take us backwards rather than forwards on nature recovery.” 

 Speaking to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee about HS2, Reeves said: “We’ve cared more about the bats than we have about the commuter times … I care more about a young family getting on the housing ladder than I do about protecting some snails, and I care more about my energy bills and my constituents than I do about the views of people from their windows.” 

 Earlier this year, she also complained that environmental regulation had become a “barrier” to investment, citing the £100m “bat tunnel” as an example of “absolutely insane costs” added to essential infrastructure investments.