The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), alongside the Environment Agency (EA) and Natural England, have introduced Strategic Policy Statements directing regulators to prioritise outcomes over administrative processes in planning and environmental assessments to accelerate approvals for housing, transport and clean energy projects while maintaining environmental standards. Backed by £100m over three years, the reforms will fund specialist staff and digital systems to speed up environmental assessments, alongside new governance structures including an Infrastructure Unit, the Defra Infrastructure Board, and a Development Industry Council. The EA has also been appointed Lead Environmental Regulator for the East West Rail project to coordinate advice and streamline approvals, supporting a scheme expected to enable 100,000 new homes and generate £6.7bn in economic growth within the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has introduced the overarching principles standard to boost investment into nature and support economic growth. This standard launched by the British Standards Institution, will support the growth of nature-friendly investments across the UK and will bring a variety of benefits for the environment. This includes restoring wetlands, improving water quality, building flood resilience, and creating new habitats.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is inviting comments on the Stockholm Convention’s draft indicative list for long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), including their salts and related compounds. This follows a recommendation by the Stockholm Convention’s Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC) in September 2024 for the Conference of the Parties to consider listing long-chain PFCAs in Annex A of the Convention. The draft list is intended to complement existing registers, which cover substances such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), along with their salts and related compounds. Comments are invited until 30 June 2025, and will help inform discussions at the next POPRC meeting, scheduled for 29 September to 3 October 2025.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has invited comments on a draft risk profile for polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs), including mixed polybrominated/chlorinated variants (PBCDD/Fs). The deadline for submitting comments is 19 May 2025. The feedback received will help determine whether the UK will add comments to any risk profile documents ahead of the next meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee, scheduled for 29 September to 3 October 2025.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published guidance titled ‘Storm overflows: policy and guidance’ to support water and sewerage companies and regulators in managing storm overflows. The document updates existing legislation and policy since the Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994 and clarifies the application of measures from the storm overflows discharge reduction plan. Defra aims to ensure a clear planning framework that supports significant forward and establishes a robust oversight and enforcement regime.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has issued interim planning guidance on integrating the Environment Act 2021 (EA 2021) PM2.5 targets into planning decisions in England.  This follows the Environmental Targets (Fine Particulate Matter) (England) Regulations 2023, which established two new targets to be achieved by 2040: a maximum annual mean concentration of 10µg/m3 and a 35% reduction in population exposure compared to 2018 levels. Defra is developing comprehensive guidance to assist applicants and planning authorities in addressing these targets in planning applications and decisions. In the interim, applicants are advised to provide evidence of identifying key pollution sources and implementing appropriate actions to minimise PM2.5 emissions in their applications.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched the Biodiversity Finance Trends Dashboard 2025 to track international trends in biodiversity finance, with a focus on nature finance flows to developing countries and co-benefits with climate finance. The dashboard uses the latest available data, including preliminary data, to track progress against the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) finance targets and to identify areas where action is needed to bridge the US$700bn annual biodiversity funding gap, as agreed under the KMGBF. Defra plans to publish the accompanying Biodiversity Finance Trends Report 2025 on 31 October 2025, ahead of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP30) in Belém, Brazil. The report will provide detailed analysis of the trends presented in the 2025 Dashboard and include case studies demonstrating progress towards achieving the KMGBF targets.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched the Floods Resilience Taskforce, aiming to co-ordinate flooding preparedness and resilience measures between central government, local authorities, community responders, and emergency services. The taskforce seeks to accelerate the development of flood defences and identify and protect vulnerable areas by promoting the delivery of drainage systems, flood defences, and natural flood management schemes in communities. Its next meeting is scheduled to be held in early 2025 and will discuss the longer-term oversight of wider flood resilience strategy and investment, as well as any rapid learning on the response to major flooding.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced the Marine Recovery Fund (MRF) to accelerate offshore wind development and safeguard marine biodiversity. The fund is intended to unlock up to 19 GW of clean energy while delivering strategic compensatory measures such as extending Marine Protected Areas and creating artificial nests for seabirds.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), along with devolved administrations has published the UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP) 2025, the first such plan in a decade. The NAP sets out how the Government will work collaboratively with farmers to minimise the impacts of pesticides on people and the environment.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a new Tree Planting Taskforce to oversee and coordinate the planting of millions of trees across the UK. The Taskforce, chaired by forestry ministers from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, aims to accelerate and strengthen tree planting efforts to help meet collective net zero targets and address the UK's low tree cover. This initiative follows a £400m Budget commitment for tree planting and peatland restoration in England over the next two years.

The Department for Envionment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched four consultations, seeking views on the exemptions under the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulations. The consultations focus on whether the renewal of the identified exemptions is justified, as well as any alternatives, substitutes, practicalities, and the potential impact of these for end users. All four consultations close on 10 May 2024.