Cross-party Peers have secured a new duty for the Crown Estate that means, for the first time in its history, it must keep under review the impact its activities have on achieving sustainable development in the UK.
This is particularly important for nature because the Crown Estate, for the first time in its history, has to demonstrate how its existing plans and ambitions, such as in offshore project leasing decisions, increasing biodiversity net gain, transitioning holdings to sustainable agricultural practices, investing in marine habitat restoration and greening urban spaces are all actively working to accelerate net zero and environmental goals.
Given the scale of energy and other infrastructure roll-out we need to achieve to decarbonise, such guardrails for nature matter.. Without the changes that mission would remain only voluntary and susceptible to future chop and change in government priorities and the Crown Estate's own management.
The Crown Estate is an independent company, with a statutory duty to generate value on behalf of the nation from a £15.5bn portfolio of land and other assets that includes rural land, urban centres, 12,000km of coastline and the UK seabed. From environmentally sensitive marine areas to offshore and onshore wind sites, these holdings can play an essential and positive role in the transition to net zero and nature recovery.
The Crown Estate Bill introduced in the Lords, amends its underpinning legislation - the Crown Estate Act 1961 - by giving new powers to the body to invest and borrow. While the Crown Estate has set out positive ambitions for nature and net zero in its current strategy, there is a need to go further by legislating a more robust duty that will future proof the organisation and support it to do all it can, to achieve the UK’s climate and nature targets, particularly as this Bill is the first opportunity in more than 60 years to modernise the Crown Estate's remit.
At Committee Stage, cross-party Peers tabled an amendment proposing a new climate and nature objective for the Crown Estate to take all reasonable steps to contribute to our net zero and environment goals. Following discussions with the Minister, the Government recognised Peers' concerns, and a compromise was reached to introduce a sustainable development review duty on the face of the Bill.
At Report Stage of the Bill in the Lords yesterday, Peers secured another critical concession on the Parliamentary record that the Crown Estate’s statutory obligations on sustainable development will be spelt out in a revised Framework Document, to be explicitly linked to achieving three sets of legally binding objectives. The Crown Estate will now have to consider targets on climate change mitigation and adaptation under the Climate Change Act 2008 and environmental targets under the Environment Act 2021. In addition, the Minister confirmed that the updated framework will also make clear that the Crown Estate will need to explain the steps it is taking through its Annual Reports, establishing a new mechanism for the organisation for Parliament to evaluate its progress towards UK net zero and nature targets.
These important changes ensure the Crown Estate’s contributions to nature recovery and the energy transition are better aligned with broader national steps to address climate change, without interfering with its independent status. Crucially, it will support the Crown Estate to maximise the role it can play in climate mitigation and adaptation and for nature, and it makes certain its statutory footing is brought up to date to deal with the rising and unpredictable future impacts of climate change.
Lord Livermore, Financial Secretary to the Treasury said:
"It is right that the public and private sectors make every contribution they can to achieving our climate change targets ... The public framework document will also make it clear that this regard includes, where relevant, consideration of relevant legislation, such as Part 1 of the Climate Change Act 2008, which deals with the targets for 2050, Section 56 of the Climate Change Act 2008, and Sections 1 to 3 of the Environment Act 2021, which deal with specific environmental targets."
Baroness Hayman (CB), Chair of Peers for the Planet said:
"What matters is the impact we have and how much we have shifted the dial in terms of what the Crown Estate achieves in support of the Government's climate and nature objectives ... I have spent the last four and a half years putting provisions like this into individual Bills as they go through this House. I hope the Government will recognise that, when they say that climate and environment issues are for everybody and that all departments, private industries and public bodies are affected and ought to be looking at the implications, they act on that realisation".
Baroness Vere of Norbiton (CON), Shadow Treasury Minister said:
"We on these Benches want to see the Crown Estate taking action to improve our environment, and we share the concerns of other noble Lords in this area ... I agree with [Lady Hayman] that it is all about outcomes in these circumstances. We agree that this is a sensible amendment and that it deserves the Government’s support."
Earl Russell (LD), Lords Spokesperson on Energy and Climate Change said:
"It is extremely important that these duties are there, that they are written in the Bill and included in the framework agreement, and that the Crown Estate needs to report on them. These, taken together, are not constraints but real responsibilities that the Crown Estate will need to meet. They are safeguards that exist for evermore; that is a powerful thing in protecting the environment."
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