UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee launches inquiry into HM Treasury’s climate and nature economics

The UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee has launched an inquiry into HM Treasury’s role in shaping government decisions on climate change, nature loss and environmental sustainability, including whether fiscal rules and spending constraints limit environmental policy. The Committee will examine how Treasury decision-making influences the UK’s overall approach and its ability to remain on track to meet legal environmental obligations. The inquiry will consider how the Treasury assesses the long-term economic risks posed by climate change and biodiversity loss, and whether climate and sustainability are treated as factors that reduce risks to the UK economy and support the Government’s growth agenda. It will also look at how measures such as sustainability and natural capital are used alongside traditional indicators such as gross domestic product, the extent to which environmental duties including the Environmental Principles Policy Statement are applied in Treasury decisions, and progress in implementing recommendations from the Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity.