Will nature based interventions achieve net zero?

What on Earth

Every day on Earth we consume without regard to the consequences of our actions.

We all use too much, we throw too much away, and the waste we produce is unsustainable.

In England, the total amount of waste disposed of by landfill or incineration has risen from 29 million tonnes in 2018 to 30 million tonnes in 2019.
 
In 2019/20 it cost local authorities £696 million, or £30.04 per household, to keep England’s streets free from litter.

What is the governments plan for protecting earth's natural resources and the UK stock of natural capital? Read on to find out. ​

What is natural capital?
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According to the Forum For The Future Natural Capital is the world's stock of natural resources to produce actual or potential goods and services into the future to support our wellbeing.
 
Natural Capital are the elements of nature that directly or indirectly produce value for people, including resources, ecosystems and species, the land, air and oceans, and the natural processes and functions that link them together and sustain life.​

Who are the government’s natural capital advisors?
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The Natural Capital Committee (NCC) (an independent advisory committee which ran from 2012 to December 2020) produced the - State of Natural Capital Report 2020 that cautioned designing climate change interventions on the basis of least cost and without undertaking robust system wide scenario analysis.
 
They argued this approach would likely result in perverse outcomes including increased Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.

They also argued there was little point in achieving net zero in the UK if it pushes GHG emissions up abroad and as a result, damages the natural environment in other countries.  
 
Instead NCC recommended using nature based interventions to reach net zero GHG emissions by 2050.

This is underpinned by a natural capital approach, with the amount of greenhouse gas removal or emissions possible from the UK’s natural environment, dependent on how the UK uses its land and the land’s condition.
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The government’s response to the NCC was to thank them for ensuring natural capital was integrated into the Environment Act 2021 which is in its final stages of becoming law and includes details on:
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• creating a new governance framework for the environment
• a new direction for resources and waste management
• improving air quality
• securing our water services
• enhancing our green spaces
• updating laws on chemicals (REACH)

 
A new independent body, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) replaced the NCC in November 2021.

The OEP is a non-departmental public body, (sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) with responsibility for holding the UK government and other UK public authorities to account.

What progress has the government made?
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The UK government legislated in the Climate Change Act 2008 to reduce GHG emissions known as the carbon footprint to 80% of 1990 levels by 2050.
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Estimates of the UK’s GHG emissions, published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), are used as the baseline for monitoring the Climate Change Act net zero target.
 
In 2017, it was estimated that the UK emitted 460 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, compared with 794 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 1990.
 
However, GHG emission figures are classed as an Experimental Statistic due to inherent uncertainties in the estimates produced.
 
The methodology is calculated on a consumption basis but is subject to ongoing review and refinement.

How can we help preserve our natural capital?
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Natural capital is at the heart of our economy and our society.
 
Natural capital is the air we breathe, the water we drink, the resources we use and ultimately the land we live on. 

We often take our Natural Capital for granted, thinking it will always be there.

The Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Great British Beach Clean 2018, recorded 642 items of litter per 100 metres - plastic and polystyrene (215 per 100 metres), cigarette stubs (46 per 100 metres) empty packets and wrappers (39 per 100 metres). 

A continuation of this type of wasteful behaviour could leave our future generations with a natural capital poverty.
 
How would future generations survive? 
 
Our Waste, Our Resources: A Strategy for England presents the governments long-term approach to minimising waste, promoting resource efficiency, circular economies and eliminating avoidable waste of all kinds, by 2050.

The governments plans are possibly more ambitious than current legislation allows. But, the RWS strategy suggests that by using resources more efficiently and reducing the waste we create, we can protect our natural capital by:

• Preserving our stock of materials through recycling
• Promoting resource efficiency meaning items can be reused or last longer
• Reducing waste and managing it carefully 
• Tackling waste crime by educating on the appropriate disposal of items and enforcing tougher penalties on fly-tippers
• Moving toward a more circular economy to extract the maximum value from resource

The government is committed to publishing an annual progress report.  In November 2021 the government published the latest performance against their published Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS) targets.  ​

About the Author
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Naomi Clews Consultancy is an independent procurement and supply chain consulting business. We are on our own journey to achieve our Net Zero targets by 2030.