Copyright Diana Farina
The Nuclear Regulatory Review: don’t turn nature crisis into catastrophe
Proposals in a new report (on how to speed up nuclear power plant construction) would weaken nature protection in all development. The Nuclear Regulatory Review (by the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce) is recommending that protections for nature should be weakened, saying that these protections result in unnecessary costs for developers. This is not true, as confirmed by a recent report by the Environmental Audit Committee.
This isn't policy yet - there's still time to stop this from happening. Wildlife and natural places need more protection, not less. Read on for an alternative way forward that allows for growth and employment as well as nature recovery, then take our e-action to raise this with your MP and Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The Nuclear Regulatory Review proposes weakening the Habitat Regulations
The Review proposes amending the Habitats Regulations so that developers don’t have to worry about avoiding harm to nature sites when they build nuclear plants. It also proposes removing a duty on public bodies to further the conservation and public access purpose of National Parks and National Landscapes.
With no environmental expertise represented on the taskforce, the Review presents an unbalanced picture and little understanding of the environmental implications of regulatory reform. The Review’s own evidence points towards what is the real blocker: not the regulations themselves, but long-standing and obvious issues stemming from cuts to regulators and planning bodies as well as political and project decisions.
Rather than unnecessarily dismantling legal protections for important wildlife sites when nature is in crisis, these perceived barriers could be quickly addressed by increased skills and capacity in the planning sector, as well as improved guidance for developers.
Help us to stop this from happening
The Prime Minister has suggested he wants the proposals to apply beyond the nuclear sector
In a speech on 1st December, the Prime Minister said he agreed with all recommendations in the Nuclear Regulatory Review and asked the Business Secretary to apply them to sectors beyond nuclear in the upcoming Industrial Strategy. This means the recommendations harmful to nature would be extended beyond potential new nuclear energy sites.
If Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) gives the green light for all the Nuclear Regulatory Review recommendations, it makes a second damaging Planning Bill inevitable. This will slam the door on nature recovery (and make net zero even harder to achieve).
If this goes ahead, people will suffer as well as wildlife
The recommendations in the Review will make natural spaces less safe from development and more vulnerable to damage and loss. These spaces might be close to where you live, or special landscapes that you visit and care about. The UK has already lost more biodiversity than any other country over the last few decades.
Ben Hall/2020VISION
The risks of environmental damage through these recommendations will also have knock-on impacts for economic stability, which affects everyone through the cost of living.
Allowing the natural world to be neglected in this way will only benefit a handful of developers who can cut costs by bending the rules in future.
In the last year, the UK Government has targeted nature and wildlife, calling spiders and bats and newts 'blockers' and deliberately getting rid of legal safeguards and policies that are supposed to help nature recover. This goes against all evidence, and the public's views that nature is necessary to everyone. Evidence shows a healthy environment underpins our economy and our wellbeing, and that building with nature in mind helps to ensure development is high quality and sustainable.
We can stop this from happening
Nature lovers may be feeling bruised after the Planning & Infrastructure Bill was passed, but the Nuclear Regulatory Review recommendations are only proposals at this stage. They have not yet been taken forward. This is your chance to defend the Habitat Regulations, protect National Parks and stop more damaging laws like a second Planning Bill before it is launched. We can stop this together.
