Green charity leaders write to PM amid New Year lobbying push

Conservation charities, including the National Trust and RSPB, have linked up to call on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to act on pledges made at the COP26 conference.

The charities, also including the Woodland Trust and The Wildlife Trusts, want to see Johnson make several commitments for 2022 to protect the environment.

The leaders of the charities have written to Johnson outlining their recommendations.

These include offering payments to farmers to restore nature as well as protection of marine environments and restoring peatlands.

Bans on peat for horticultural purposes and banning upland peat ate also being called for.

In addition, they want councils and central government to put a greater focus on tackling climate change and to set “ambitious long-term targets” for tree planting.

The Wildlife Trusts, along with our friends @NationalTrust, @Natures_Voice and @WoodlandTrust, have come up with some New Year nature resolutions for the Prime Minister! We want to see climate change tackled seriously in 2022 🌍 👇 https://t.co/rpEMUkTLQY
— The Wildlife Trusts (@WildlifeTrusts) January 3, 2022

“COP26 felt a real watershed moment in the fight against the nature and climate crises and it was fantastic to see so many individuals, organisations and nations pulling together to limit the damage done by climate change,” said National Trust director general Hilary McGrady.

“We have recently seen the impact extreme weather events like storms Arwen and Barra have on our landscapes and we must do everything we can to protect them.

“This is why we are today calling on the Prime Minister to build on the pledges made at COP26 and commit to a series of New Year resolutions to nature that ensure our natural defences against climate change are protected and nurtured in 2022 and beyond.”

Meanwhile, RSPB chief executive Beccy Speight said: “The UK Government needs to turn its rhetoric on the global stage into reality for our countryside.

“We now need new guarantees from the Government that deliver on the important commitments for nature secured at COP26 – to protect the nation’s wildlife and to restore our farmed landscape so that it helps tackle both the ecological and climate crises.”

The charities are also calling on the government “to lead by example by reducing emissions for the benefit of nature and people”.