Recent Successes
In recent years WWF-UK has been in the forefront of campaigning in the UK and the EU to change legislation and policy to protect our environment and biodiversity here in the UK and worldwide. Recent major successes include:
2010: WWF welcomes the EU Regulation to control the import of illegal timber. If the law is adopted it will mean that from 2012, illegal timber and timber products will be banned from the EU market and that companies importing timber will have to provide information about the country of origin of the timber they use and its legality.
2009: We welcome the announcement in November 2009 by Andrew Mitchell, the Conservatives' International Development spokesperson, that if they win the next election they'll stop the ECGD's support for dirty fossil fuel projects, and instead use this financial support for green, renewable energy projects.
2009: The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 is passed, marking the end of a decade-long campaign by WWF and other organisatins to protect our seas. Among other things, the Act includes a legally binding duty on the Government to designate a network of protected areas to recover and improve our marine environment.
2008: WWF celebrates climate success as the Climate Change Bill becomes an Act of Parliament. Notable successes include strengthening the target for the UK to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The target now matches the most up-to-date science, which calls for reductions of at least 80% by the middle of the century, and for emissions from international flights and shipping to be accounted for in the scope of the legislation.
2008: The government accepted an amendment to the Climate Change Bill to require the government to make public the greenhouse gas emissions from carbon-heavy projects supported by its Export Credit Guarantee Department.
2008: The government accepted an amendment to the Planning Bill for regional planning bodies to include policies to tackle climate change.
2008: After eight years of campaigning by WWF for new effective marine legislation, the government announced the inclusion of a UK Marine Bill in the 2008/09 session.
2007: As a result of WWF’s One Million Sustainable Homes campaign, the government launched a Code for Sustainable Homes and committed to all new homes being zero-carbon by 2016.
2006: WWF campaigned to strengthen the EU REACH legislation (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) to ensure proper regulation of hazardous man-made chemicals.
2005: WWF campaigned for a change in the UK's Criminal Justice Act to allow police officers to arrest people selling illegal products derived from endangered species.
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Latest news
After Bonn, climate talks must pick up before Cancun
World governments who took part in the third Bonn climate change talks this week will have to ramp up their negotiations in order to make crucial progress at the Cancun meeting later this year.
Progress needed at Bonn climate talks
We’re looking for real progress on some outstanding issues at the next UN climate talks in Bonn this week. This includes the need for forest protection, adaptation to the inevitable results of climate change, and the beginning of real flows of finance for climate action.
Our sincere apologies for UN climate meeting incident
WWF has apologised unreservedly for the unofficial actions of an employee who was involved in an incident at the June meeting of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is one of a series of meetings where a global agreement on tackling climate change is being negotiated.
Brazil’s forest law under threat
Dangerous proposals to weaken forest protection in Brazil have moved a step closer. The Brazilian Congress’s Special Committee on Forest Law Changes has voted in favour of amendments that could allow dramatic increases in deforestation. We’re not alone in thinking this is a bad move.
New Amazon threat must be resisted
The Amazon rainforest is facing an urgent new threat as we speak. The Brazilian government is under huge pressure right now from agribusiness and landowners to drastically weaken the law that protects the country’s forests.