Green Party votes to endorse Nature, Biodiversity and National Security Act
Green MP Adrian Ramsay said: "Natural systems are critical national infrastructure, and it is time we treated them that way."
Members of the Green Party of England and Wales have voted to support the introduction of new legislation which would require government ministers to treat nature decline as seriously as other risks to national security.
The vote will see the Greens endorse a Nature, Biodiversity and National Security Act – legislation which would require ministers to carry out resilience planning, treat nature as critical national infrastructure and deliver cross-government action on flooding, drought, extreme heat and sea-level rises.
The move comes following the UK being hit with extreme heat and wildfires this summer, and warnings from the Joint Intelligence Committee earlier this year that global ecosystem degradation threaten the UK’s national security.
The government has thus far not published the full, unredacted version of the Joint Intelligence Committee report, with Green politicians calling on it to do so.
Green MP, Adrian Ramsay, who proposed the motion, said: “Greens have been warning for over fifty years that the destruction of nature is a threat to our way of life. Now the Government’s own intelligence experts have confirmed it. The Joint Intelligence Committee has told ministers that biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse threaten national security, and the Government has repeatedly failed to act.
“That is why Green Party delegates have today backed a Nature, Biodiversity and National Security Act. It would put restoring nature and protecting the living systems that our economy, food supply, infrastructure, health and wellbeing depend on right at the heart of Government decision-making. Natural systems are critical national infrastructure, and it is time we treated them that way.
“The Green Party understands the scale of the threat posed by climate breakdown and the nature crisis. The Government has been handed the evidence. It must now stop looking away and act.”
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
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