ENVIRONMENT EMERGENCY

That this House welcomes the Government’s recognition that we are in a national climate emergency; notes the publication this month of the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services based on a review of approximately 15,000 scientific and Government sources and complied by 145 expert authors from 50 countries; recognises the report's warning that the behaviour of human beings may force as many as one million species into extinction in the next few years; further recognises the report’s conclusion that human activity is the main driver of nature’s decline; expresses deep concern at the Governments delay of the draft Environment (Principles and Governance) Bill 2018 in the face of our rapidly shrinking biodiversity; calls on the Government to move forward with the passage of this essential Bill as a matter of urgency; and urges the Government to guarantee that the Office of Environmental Protection is given sufficient independence, power and resource to hold the Government to account and regulate the effective implementation of the Bill.