The connection between using resources better and achieving environmental goals has been “poorly understood” in government and amongst politicians, according to insiders interviewed by Green Alliance.
Green Alliance has published a new report into why the previous government were unable to implement the majority of policies set out in the 2018 Resource & Waste Strategy.
The report by the independent think tank and charity features interviews with parliamentarians, officials, and advisers.
Policymakers interviewed in the research suggested that lobbying from vested interests is holding back progress on resources.
Some insiders suggested large brands with linear business models have held back change.
When discussing the barriers faced by previous administrations, a former civil servant in the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said “The people who get the ear of the deputy directors or ministers, are most likely to be the waste industry”.
In the interview, the implication was that lobbying from vested interests in the waste industry was the reason resources policy is primarily focused on waste – a perspective backed up by a “Westminster insider”.
Interviewees also said that decision-makers and the public need to see proof of success to get behind the idea of a circular economy.
They highlighted the need to avoid abstract language, and instead connect arguments for better resource policies to economic growth, resource security and jobs.
The report also found personal prejudices and misapprehensions had limited action because power is concentrated around a small group of decision-makers.
A former advisor to Number 10 told Green Alliance that the deposit return scheme was delayed as one senior decision-maker opposed it because they only used online supermarket deliveries.
Green Alliance says policymakers misunderstand public attitudes
The second series of Blue Planet, which aired on the BBC in 2017, led to significant public concern about plastic pollution.
A former civil servant told Green Alliance this focused policymaking on plastics and packaging, rather than on wider reforms Defra could enact.
Interviewees also said that politicians often fear negative public responses to government intervention and the cost of environmental action.
Previous Green Alliance research suggested that 60% of people would support a shift towards resource efficiency even if it changed their lifestyle.
The new government has great ambitions, but to succeed where the last government failed, they’ll need to avoid using abstract language and connect with people’s daily concerns.
Commenting on the report, Libby Peake, head of resources at Green Alliance, said: “The public wants to see an economy where we make the most out of the resources we already have, and this is also critical to meeting the UK’s climate and nature commitments.
“Yet virtually nothing changed after the last government promised to transform the country’s resource use and minimise waste five years ago.
“The new government has great ambitions, but to succeed where the last government failed, they’ll need to avoid using abstract language and connect with people’s daily concerns.
“They should grasp some quick wins to prove things can change, as they develop a long-term strategy to transform the economy.”
