With the announcement of the new Prime Minister, the government will be ready to move forward with key appointments and a sense of urgency at the magnitude of the challenges which face the UK. One pressing challenge is to restore Britain’s global leadership on the environment whilst also acting on the cost-of-living crisis. It would be a profound mistake to back away from our ambitious climate targets and policies designed to provide healthy sustainable food for the country, because of a myopic focus on the most immediate crisis in front of us.

What people tell us on the ground – including farmers, entrepreneurs, parents – is that they care deeply about those global issues, even as they may feel embattled and in crisis. We hear frustration at how the challenges they face are used to excuse inaction on the environment. They want positive and practical leadership for the short and long term. They want governments to seize the opportunity presented by a green transition to not only find alternative affordable energy sources, but to also make it easier to eat healthily and avoid diet related illnesses (and the knock-on cost to the NHS and the economy). They understand that investing in sustainable farming and land use will lock up carbon and restore wildlife. They believe financing nature recovery, mitigating flood risks, and decarbonising the economy will create good, green jobs in the rural economy.  

Now is the time for courageous and ambitious leadership, setting the right policy framework, working in partnerships with businesses to transition the economy, making more efficient and effective use of public funds, with a focus on real and long-term public value. It is now up to Liz Truss and team to provide that leadership, setting the country on a more resilient and adaptable pathway to 2030 and beyond.