About the new environment minister in Britain & Some essential reads for the 3rd week of November 2023

16/11/2023 Why the UK sacked its environment minister, and what to expect from her successor

Helena Horton Former prime minister David Cameron’s shock return to the political front line rightly led the news coverage during the reshuffle of the UK government earlier this week. But it’s fair to say those in the environment sector breathed a sigh of relief when Thérèse Coffey, who has helmed the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for the past year, got the chop. How did Coffey manage to alienate so many, and what can we expect from her replacement? We’ll explore that after this week’s most important reads.

In focus

Uniquely for an environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey managed to alienate both farmers and wildlife groups. Notable moments include when she was booed by farmers at the National Farmers’ Union conference after flippant and arguably rude responses to the popular NFU chief Minette Batters, and she was widely ridiculed for saying the department was unprepared for the floods this autumn which destroyed thousands of homes, because the rain came from the wrong direction. Many found her to be complacent about her role; she refused to put a species reintroduction plan in place, dismissing it as “not a priority” despite recommendations from the environment, food and rural affairs committee, and was dismissive about food shortages faced earlier this year, suggesting the people of Britain should survive on turnips. So it’s fair to say the feeling in the sector was that any replacement would likely be better. Sunak chose Steve Barclay, until this week the health secretary, to helm the department. He does not have any experience in the field but represents the rural constituency of North East Cambridgeshire, and used his first speech in parliament in 2010 to highlight inequalities in the countryside. Sunak’s reshuffle has been aimed at winning back traditional Conservative voters, who have found recent culture wars on immigration, homelessness and climate distasteful. Many of these true blue constituencies, which are in danger of going Lib Dem or Labour, are in rural areas. There has been widespread anger about the sewage scandal, where water companies have pumped raw sewage into the UK’s rivers and seas, and Coffey was not regarded as having a grip on the issue. Farmers have also felt aggrieved by post-Brexit trade deals and a change to the farming payments system which has left many out of pocket. Not to mention the escalating biodiversity decline, with Defra failing to meet targets for trees and birds. Voters in rural areas have been taken for granted by conservatives who have always counted on their vote. So Barclay has a big job on his hands. Let’s hope he views his job as an important one, rather than a demotion as most political journalists in the UK termed it. It was widely thought Coffey, deputy prime minister under Liz Truss, viewed the job as a demotion far below her station, and that is how many are framing Barclay’s move from health. Unfortunately, Defra has often been the dumping ground for ministers who need to be given a job in the reshuffle but the prime minister has run out of plum roles to give them. The department has one of the smallest budgets, and is not a priority when it comes to cabinet decisions. This is largely why rural inequality continues, biodiversity indicators are plummeting, little to nothing has been done to tackle the sewage scandal and we face real structural issues with food security and flood protection. When the supermarket shelves are empty, or homes across the country are deep in filthy flood water, the political class wakes up for a week or two and views the environment as important. With climate breakdown, these crises are likely to become more severe and more frequent, particularly given the lack of political attention historically given to the issues. Let’s hope Barclay seizes the opportunity to make a difference – we are never going to sort our environment out if it is viewed as an undesirable role at the bottom of the pecking order. Read more on Conservatives and the environment:

UK to loosen post-Brexit chemical regulations further Anti-green measures in king’s speech are desperate political play by Sunak | Fiona Harvey Thérèse Coffey ‘complacent’ in dealing with water companies, peers say

Essential reads Australia to offer residency to Tuvalu citizens displaced by climate change EU agrees law to curb methane emissions from fossil fuel industry The science is irrefutable’: US warming faster than global average, says report

Cop28  
Host UAE breaking its own ban on routine gas flaring, data shows

The UAE is hosting the UN Cop28 summit, which starts on 30 November, and Sultan Al Jaber, the CEO of the state oil company Adnoc, will preside over the international negotiations to urgently tackle the climate crisis.

The age of extinction  

The Neretva, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is one of the most biodiverse rivers on the continent – supporting bears, wolves, lynx and many rare species – but more than 50 planned dams could permanently transform the ecosystem
It’s one of Europe’s last pristine rivers. Can scientists save it from 50 dams?

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‘The complete murder of our young’  
India counts cost of another polluting Diwali on a generation of children

One in three children in Delhi is already asthmatic, with many more at risk of organ damage from breathing noxious air. A crowded waiting room at one children’s hospital tells the story.

A generation of children is growing up in a city that is, for most of the year, one of the most polluted in the world. Come October and the onset of winter, soaring pollution triggers a public health emergency.

The winters are especially bad because there is little rain or wind to disperse toxins. Farmers in neighbouring states burn their crop residue, sending black smoke wafting into the city. On top of it all comes Diwali, when people burst firecrackers which release chemicals and noxious gases.