The Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) sets out the Government’s overarching strategy for protecting and enhancing the environment, including work to meet the range of targets set out in the Environment Act 2021.  The 3rd version of the EIP was published on 1st December 2025.  

The EIP sits across a wide range of government work that impacts the natural environment. The achievement of the EIP goals will require the successful implementation of a complex mix of policies and regulations.

So what’s the big picture here?

The Environment Act sets out some pretty ambitious goals for England’s nature, air and water and the latest EIP update gives us a clearer idea of what’s expected over the next few years. In simple terms, the government wants to:

• Turn around species decline by 2030 and then keep boosting numbers well beyond 2042.
• Create or restore more wildlife-rich habitats – over half a million hectares by 2042.
• Get more trees in the ground, aiming for 16.5% woodland cover by 2050.
• Improve our seas, with protected marine areas in good or recovering condition by 2042.
• Clean up the air, particularly PM2.5, with big reductions by 2040.
• Reduce river pollution, including halving metal pollution from abandoned mines and cutting agricultural runoff by 40%.
• Cut phosphorus from wastewater by 80% by 2038.
• Use less water, with targets for reducing public consumption.
• Halve residual waste per person by 2042.

And now the EIP has added a fresh set of interim targets to keep everyone on track. These include:

• 250,000 hectares of new or restored wildlife habitats by 2030 (up from the old 140,000 ha target).
• Twice as many farms supporting year-round wildlife by 2030.
• A 50% reduction in the spread of invasive species by 2030.
• Even tougher air-quality standards, with PM2.5 not exceeding 10 µg/m³ by 2030.
• A 30% cut in population exposure to PM2.5 by 2030.

The figure below is given to illustrate the wider picture:

And what does that mean for farmers/land managers?

The documents do give us some useful clues about where government funding schemes and regulations might be heading. The EIP pulls together everything from existing policy and confirmed announcements to ideas still in the pipeline and even some educated guesses about future impacts.

It can be challenging to untangle the lines of budget and departmental commitment. Add to that the fact that many of the targets are based on assumptions about how widely schemes will be adopted and whether funding will actually be there when needed.

With recent policy shifts, ongoing consultations, scheme delivery hiccups and the general political uncertainty we’re all aware of, it’s hard to see exactly how the government will support a long-term, multi-year framework in a way that truly delivers on the goals it has set.