Environmental Improvement Progress Report 2024: Parliamentary forward view

Every year, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) produces a progress report, assessing the state of environmental improvement in England, in the context of the Government's Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP).

This briefing paper covers the contents of the 2024 edition of that report, ‘Progress in improving the natural environment in England 2022/2023’. The report concludes that “while some progress has been made, very substantial challenges remain, and that government is largely off track to meet EIP23 ambitions, Environment Act targets and other commitments."

Since this briefing was published, further editions of the OEP's annual report have been published. For our response to the 2026 report on environmental improvement, see our analysis in Essential Environment: OEP progress report: The hunt for environmental improvement.

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