Mary Creagh MP: “Nature is central to the economy“
Mary Creagh MP opening the SXSW panel discussion
Mary Creagh MP spoke at a nature and climate panel at the SXSW festival in London on nature’s central role in the economy.
Nature is our most valuable natural resource. It provides the foundations on which critical sectors depend. A decline in nature weakens resilience, increases risk and undermines growth. She laid out three ways the Labour government is protecting the natural systems we all depend on to build a stronger, more resilient economy.
First, the government is driving investment in nature and more sustainable development. The Government’s Biodiversity Net Gain policy requires new developments in England to deliver at least a 10% uplift in biodiversity, preventing 6,000 to 10,000 hectares of habitat loss each year. Government initiatives like the Big Nature Impact Fund are unlocking private finance for nature recovery, with £34.6 million already committed to projects including woodland creation, peatland restoration and habitat banks.
Secondly, the Labour government is promoting ‘blended finance’ which combines public funding with private investment to increase ambition and share risk. The Landscape Recovery scheme, for example, brings landowners together to deliver large-scale environmental restoration. Over 50 locally led projects now cover over 240,000 hectares across England and aim to restore and protect nature. Early projects alone could restore more than 600 kilometres of rivers and support the recovery of 250 species.
Thirdly, putting nature at the heart of the economy globally, by working with partners around the world. The Labour government is creating new alliances like the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits and the Friends of the Cali Fund, to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. It is supporting organisations including the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, the Biodiversity Finance Initiative and the African Natural Capital Alliance.
