Taunton Deane MP, Rebecca Pow, a passionate environmentalist and campaigner in Westminster, has welcomed the ambitious 25 Year Environment Plan launched by the Prime Minister. The long-term strategy for protecting and enhancing our natural environment has a focus on reducing plastic pollution, planting and creating greater access to woodland and enabling school children to engage further with nature.
The Government’s vision for a greener future includes pledges to crackdown on all avoidable plastic waste, create new habitats, increase commitments to anti-poaching schemes, deliver a Green Brexit, connect more people with nature and seek to embed a ‘net environmental gain’ principle.
Since her arrival to Parliament in 2015, Rebecca has been a strong advocate for increasing environmental standards across the Government agenda. Her work on ancient woodland and micro plastics has already helped to achieve positive changes in Government policy, with the world leading ban on harmful microbeads coming into effect this week.
Rebecca has lobbied for a more holistic approach to environmental policy that covers multi-departments and the 25 Year Environment Plan helps to deliver on Rebecca’s ideas. A new natural capital approach will help us to see the additional benefits in every part of our living environment - whether that be improved mental and physical health or increased national prosperity. This will help to spread good environmental practice across Government Departments and see it weaved seamlessly into people’s everyday lives.
Commenting on this week’s announcements, Rebecca said:
‘After nearly three years of working on this agenda in Westminster, this has been the most exciting week of environmental announcements and I am very pleased to be able to say that I have played my part. We started the week with the announcement of the world leading ban on microbeads in personal care products, and having ran my own personal campaign on this issue I was absolutely delighted to see this happen.
To follow this up with the launch of the ambitious 25 Year Environment Plan, which sets out how we will go about ensuring a green future, means that as a country we are fast becoming global leaders in how we go about protecting and enhancing our natural world.
As our population continues to grow there will be ever increasing demands on our precious land and natural resources, but with this plan in place we will be working towards a more sustainable long term future for our environment.’
Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:
‘Respecting nature’s intrinsic value and making sure we are wise stewards of our natural world is critical if we are to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it.
Our Environment Plan sets out how over the next 25 years we will radically reduce the waste that is choking oceans and rivers, cleanse our air of toxic pollutants and create new habitats for our most precious wildlife to thrive.
Through this plan we will build on our reputation as a global leader in environmental protection, creating an environment everyone can enjoy and helping the next generation flourish.’
