Every promise
made for our world
must be kept.
We've been promised a better future -
Let's make it happen
the promises our leaders must keep
- 1:Deliver the net zero emissions target to avoid catastrophic climate change.
- 2:Protect and restore nature and bring our world back to life.
- 3:Stop funding harmful food production that destroys our climate and nature.
- 4:Protect our environmental standards from bad deals.
- 5:Protect our forests and keep deforestation out of our supply chains.
...And why they matter
Our world is on the brink of disaster and we are the last generation that can do anything about it.
The science is clear: nature and climate are in freefall.
If we continue to destroy our world at this rate, we will lose more wildlife, our fight against climate change, and our ability to produce enough food for everyone.
We're now in a race to bring our world back to life before it’s too late, and we know it's a race we can win.
But we need urgent and ambitious action from our leaders – and right now, they’re not delivering on their promises.
Together, we can show we need urgent action on climate and nature. We must act now to bring our world back to life.
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Progress so far on the 5 promises
0
Promises
on target
Promises that are "on target" are ones where the aims have been agreed and met or are well on the way to being met.
1
Promises
In Progress
Promises are "in progress" if they have some momentum – but they may be at early stages and have little evidence to show.
4
Promises
off target
Promises that are "off target" have proved to be either non-starters, insufficient, stalled, failing or simply broken.
Promise one
Deliver the net zero emissions target to avoid catastrophic climate change
The UK Government promised – and put into law – that we would stop increasing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere by 2050. Delivering net zero is crucial to protect our climate and limit global warming to 1.5°C, ensuring a safer future and a more stable climate for people and nature. We won’t get there without rapid changes to our energy and food systems, which are the two biggest contributors to climate change.
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We will lead the global fight against climate change by delivering... Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
Source: Conservative Party Manifesto, 2019
STATUS: Off target
While some progress was made at COP26 in Glasgow, since then the Government has been going backwards on its climate commitments. It has pledged to issue new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea and in September 2023, the Government delayed or abandoned some of its most ambitious climate targets. This included delaying the phase out of new petrol and diesel cars, exempting the phase out of fossil fuel boilers, and deserting some energy efficiency requirements for homes. And at COP28, whilst a landmark agreement calling on all nations to transition away from fossil fuels was agreed, the Government has not signalled it would phase-out oil and gas in the UK.
We need our energy system to be efficient, fair and powered by renewables such as wind and solar. Combined with more energy efficient homes, this would not only slash our emissions but also bring down our energy bills, improve living standards and make life more affordable for everyone. The global shift in energy has started, but our world is still addicted to polluting fuels like coal, oil and gas.
Food systems make up around one third of emissions globally but cannot be phased out in the same way as fossil fuels. With rising food prices and the war in the Ukraine affecting food security, a switch to sustainable agriculture and food production, globally, is needed to cut emissions and secure food for everyone. The UN has yet to agree a clear mandate for all countries that climate action should span across the entire food system and the UK must step up and lead by example.
Promise 2
Protect and restore nature and bring our world back to life
The UK government has committed to publish several nature-focused targets, including halting the decline of species abundance and reversing the loss of nature in England by 2030. The UK also promised to lead the way in negotiations at the UN Biodiversity Summit (CBD COP15) on a game-changing global deal to reverse the loss of nature by 2030. Nature is our biggest ally in the fight against climate change. Bringing nature back to life and harnessing its power as a climate solution will have huge benefits for people’s health, wildlife, food production and the economy.
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Halting climate change and protecting the natural world are two sides of the same coin
SOURCE: UK Government’s Net Zero Strategy
STATUS: Off target
The UK government has consulted on but not yet published its targets under the Environment Act. By the mid-2030s – 2040 at the latest – UK governments must ensure our land is a ‘net sink’, meaning it absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits. Yet for the past three years the UK government has consistently missed its targets for restoring vital habitats and carbon sinks, like peatlands and forests.
There is also no clear commitment from the incoming Government to uphold its promise to lead from the front to secure a global deal for nature at the UN Biodiversity Summit later this year. The UK and other countries around the world must use this once in a decade chance to reverse the catastrophic loss of nature and improve our natural world's vital signs.
Promise 3
Stop funding harmful food production that destroys our climate and nature
The UK government has promised to support English farmers through a system of “paying public money for public goods”, so that food production is also protecting and enhancing our natural environment. Globally, the food system accounts for around one third of greenhouse gas emissions, and in the UK, emissions from agriculture have been static for a decade. At the same time, the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.
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In return for funding [farmers] must farm in a way that protects and enhances our natural environment, as well as safeguarding high standards of animal welfare.
Source: Page 42 Conservative party manifesto.
Status: Off target
The UK government has begun to publish plans and launch new schemes to support farmers and deliver on this promise, including through measures to pay farmers to improve soils and piloting large-scale projects to restore wild landscapes. But worryingly, there is now a review of these schemes taking place behind closed doors that will at best delay these changes. Research has shown that even a two-year delay would halve the carbon savings from agriculture by 2030 compared with sticking to current plans.
The Government must resist calls to delay and deliver on a ground-breaking scheme that could help farmers stop harmful food production, support our land and help nature thrive – bringing back lost butterflies, birds and bees to our countryside. Without long-term solutions in place, we’ll continue to go from crisis to crisis and fail to protect our food system from future shocks.
Promise 4
Protect our environmental standards from bad deals
The UK government promised that in all trade negotiations it would not lower our environmental standards. The UK currently imports 48% of the food we consume, and while that food must meet minimum food safety standards, the food we import does not have to meet the high environmental standards demanded of UK farmers.
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In all our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.
SOURCE: Page 57, The 2019 Conservative manifesto
STATUS: Off target
The UK’s first trade deal negotiated from scratch will significantly lower tariffs on Australian agricultural products, produced to much lower environmental and animal welfare standards. Australia uses 71 highly hazardous substances and thousands of pesticides that are banned in the UK and can harm vital pollinators such as bees. Australia has also been identified by WWF as a significant deforestation hotspot, largely driven by cattle ranching.
The Australia trade deal sets a dangerous precedent for future negotiations, and other trade deals in the pipeline are likely to grant fuller and freer access to the UK food market to countries with lower standards. Such deals will undercut UK farmers who are working to farm more sustainably, as so far, the UK has done no work to set environmental criteria for how food is produced that is imported into the UK and sold in our supermarkets and restaurants.
WWF is calling for core environmental standards for all foods sold in the UK, including imports, to support UK farmers already adopting nature friendly approaches, and ensure the food on our plates doesn’t cost the earth.
Promise 5
Protect our forests and keep deforestation out of our supply chains
The UK government has made a commitment to protect the world’s vital forests, like the Amazon, and to support zero-deforestation supply chains for agriculture and other industries. Forests are crucial as they are home to over 80% of the world's land-based species of animals, plants and insects. Millions of people and species depend on forests, and they play a crucial role in helping to regulate the world’s climate. Yet deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon hit an all-time high in 2022 and if we lose the Amazon, we lose the fight to limit climate change – it’s that simple.
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...we commit to advancing sustainable supply chains that are net-zero aligned and climate resilient, decouple agricultural production from forest loss and land degradation, use resources sustainably, reduce environmental impact
SOURCE: Page 10, G7 Leaders’ Communiqué, Elmau (Germany), 28 June 2022
STATUS: In progress
Our analysis shows that the UK government isn’t doing enough to ensure that the products we buy here in the UK are not driving global deforestation. The Environment Act passed in 2021 required companies to do “due diligence” to identify and minimise risks of illegal deforestation in their supply chains. This was a positive step, but the details of these requirements do not cover legal deforestation, and only in December 2023 did the Government announce it was bringing them into force.
Between 2016 and 2018, an average annual area of 21.3 million hectares was required to supply the UK’s demand for just seven forest- and ecosystem-risk commodities: beef and leather, cocoa, palm oil, pulp and paper, rubber, soy, and timber. This is equivalent to 88% of the UK’s total land area.
More action is also needed from our leaders to bring forward clear plans to deliver on the promise agreed by 130 countries at the COP26 climate summit to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030.
Photos and graphics are © or used with permission. WWF, Michel GUNTHER, Andrew Parkinson, Shutterstock, Global Warming Images, Jasper Doest, Andre Dib, Day's Edge Productions, Global Warming Images, Jiri Rezac, Troy Mayne, Ole Jorgen Liodden