A new report published by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) critisises the government for reneging on a promise to publish a green economy roadmap and warns of the perils of relaxing environmental regulations that safeguard the environment and protect the public’s health.

In the EAC’s report ‘A Green Economy’, the government is accused of failing to provide a strategic green economy roadmap, after the coalition government released the ‘Enabling the Transition to a Green Economy’ report, which outlined current green policies rather than setting forth new ones. The latter report, originally entitled 'Roadmap to a Green Economy' was expected to include a point-by-point strategic plan to lead the UK towards a greener economy.

‘Defra promised a “Roadmap”, so we are disappointed that “Enabling the Transition” did not set out a clear trajectory to a green economy or any time-bound milestones for businesses to achieve,’ the EAC writes in the report, ‘…what is needed is a green economy strategy which is Treasury-led and addresses the economy as a whole.’

The report also warns the government that their ‘Red Tape Challenge’ could relax crucial environmental regulations already in place. The ‘Red Tape Challenge’ invites businesses to voice their dissatisfaction with current regulations in the aim of ‘freeing up businesses and society from the burden of excessive regulation’, but the EAC has warned that cutting back regulations could lead to crucial environmental regulations being relaxed. Of 255 regulations considered by the environmental theme of the Red-Tape Challenge, the government said that 132 would be ‘improved’ (mainly by simplification or merger), 70 would be kept as they were and 53 ‘obsolete’ regulations would be repealed. The report warns that ‘the impending consolidation of environmental regulations must not be a smokescreen for lowering the protections they afford in a short-term pursuit of growth’.

Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Joan Walley, said: "The Treasury seems to see environmental regulations as nothing more than costly red-tape, but what we are talking about here are vital laws to give us clean air, safe food, and a thriving countryside. If this process reduces bureaucracy and improves outcomes, as the government claims, then we will support it. But it would be irresponsible to get rid of sensible regulations in a desperate dash for growth and we will be watching ministers very carefully on this.”

The report urges the government to adopt several new measures, including:

• Develop minimum sustainability standards with stakeholders and businesses
• Produce a green skills strategy to ensure that skills and training provision can match the aspirations of green economy policies
• Set out how data on natural capital in the National Accounts will be used
• Develop targets for improving the state of the environment and establish transparent reporting against such targets
• Set up an independent body to examine the linkages between the state of natural capital and economic policy, and to provide advice on whether growth in the economy is being achieved at the expense of stocks of natural capital
• Set a date by which it will publish its definition of an 'environmental tax'
• Use the Natural Capital Committee's work on a 'natural asset stock check' to measure the green economy.

The full report can be read at the House of Commons website