![Rome_logo[screen].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/23bc2d_6a2f35b7f5aa47179319a959d82fd17b~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_169,h_105,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Rome_logo%5Bscreen%5D.png)
RESOURCES: ARTICLE
‘Failure on pretty much every aspect’: Government condemned as UK set to miss key environmental goals
‘As rivers become toxic and countryside becomes devoid of wildlife, the government must be held to account,' say campaigners
The UK government is set to miss legally binding environment targets in 2020, according to an investigation that found it had failed on “pretty much every aspect” of protecting wildlife and the environment.
Despite promises to prioritise green issues, the UK has made little progress on tackling carbon emissions, air and water pollution, waste and overfishing, as well as increasing tree planting and biodiversity.
Boris Johnson promised to “do extraordinary things on the environment”, yet the country’s green credentials are in disrepute, according to the investigation by Greenpeace’s journalism unit Unearthed and the Financial Times.
​
Next year will be a key moment for the UK to show leadership in tackling climate and nature emergencies when it hosts the United Nations climate change summit COP26.
However, campaigners say progress has been crippled by budget cuts in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
“The government is failing to take sufficient action on pretty much every aspect of nature and the environment, despite endless promises to leave it in a better state than it found it. It’s set to miss more targets than an archer shooting blindfolded,” said Sam Chetan-Welsh, political campaigner at Greenpeace UK.
​
Read the full article here
​