Public letter to the Prime Minister

To: Prime Minister Keir Starmer 

CC: Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Emma Reynolds, Chair of the International Development Committee Sarah Champion, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee Toby Perkins, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Emily Thornberry

Dear Prime Minister,  

Every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse.  
All countries are exposed to the risks of ecosystem collapse within and beyond their borders. 
Global ecosystem degradation and collapse threaten UK national security and prosperity.  

These are just some of the stark conclusions of your Government’s national security assessment on global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, a summary of which was published last month.  

As you made clear during your recent trip to China: “Events abroad affect everything that happens back in our home countries, to prices on the supermarket shelves to how secure we feel.” 

As Governments gather in Rome to discuss progress towards global targets to halt and reverse nature loss, we are writing to express our deep concern that the UK Government is failing to provide the international leadership on nature recovery that is essential to a meaningful response to the climate crisis and the threat it poses to the UK’s national security and prosperity. British people also want to see strong and ambitious leadership to protect our environment. 

We fear that our natural environment - the foundation of our economy and prosperity - is being left behind. But there are opportunities for imminent course corrections. 

First, as your Government finalises decisions on the UK’s International Climate Finance for 2026-31 (ICF4), we urge you to intervene and build on precedent to ensure that nature-based solutions and forest protection and restoration demonstrably and transparently represent one-third of the UK’s international climate finance commitments.  

Second, this is the moment to invest in the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) to keep precious tropical forests standing. At COP30 the UK dismayed powerful allies by not investing in the TFFF, despite having played a critical role in its initial development. The April IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington DC provide an excellent opportunity to step up to support the TFFF and safeguard the forests that underpin the viability of the global food system.  

As the National Security Assessment made clear, nature is not a nice to have, at home or abroad. It is, as His Majesty the King stated in his address in Manchester at the first UK-hosted IPBES Conference: 'the ultimate foundation of our societies and, critically, our economy'. The restoration and protection of nature – both on land and in the world’s oceans – is vital to a safe and prosperous future; there will be no sustainable growth without the underpinning it provides. We urge you to prioritise nature in your climate, foreign affairs and development policy to reduce risks to the British public and the British economy, and stand ready to work with you in partnership as you do so.  

Yours sincerely, 

• Zoological Society of London (ZSL) 
• Zero Hour 
• Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF)  
• Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL) 
• Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) 
• TRAFFIC International 
• The Wildlife Trusts 
• The Soil Association 
• The Nature Conservancy (TNC) 
• The Climate Coalition 
• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) 
• Plantlife 
• People’s Trust for Endangered Species 
• Marine Conservation Society 
• International Institute for Environment & Development (IIED) 
• Greenpeace 
• Green Alliance 
• Fauna & Flora 
• Conservation International-UK 
• Climate Outreach 
• Chester Zoo 
• Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) 
• Campaign for Nature 
• Blue Marine Foundation 
• Bat Conservation Trust