Tackling Climate And Nature Targets With A Land Use Policy

Farming, housing, habitats and infrastructure are some of the major uses of land across England. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is currently reviewing land use, in preparation for a new policy. This will include recommendations for land use changes.

This stems from the statutory commitments to halt biodiversity loss (in the Environment Act 2021) and to achieve net zero targets by 2050 (in the Climate Change Act 2008). In short, land use is high on the policy agenda.

With the majority of land privately owned, a national land use policy might seem at odds with the principle of private ownership. Yet DEFRA stresses that land use change will not be mandated. For context, Scotland has regularly published a land use policy since 2011. The UK Climate Change Committee called for a land use strategy in 2020.