Open consultation, Document

Consultation on the draft environmental principles and integrating environmental protection statement

The Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Act 2026 requires Welsh Ministers to prepare and consult on an Environmental Principles and Integrating Environmental Protection Statement.

First published: 19 June 2026

Last updated: 19 June 2026

In this page

Date of issue: 19 June 2026
Action required: Responses by 11 September 2026

Overview

The aim of this consultation is to gather feedback on the draft Environmental Principles and Integrating Environmental Protection Statement (“the Statement”). This Statement is required to be prepared and published by the Welsh Ministers under sections 6 and 7 of the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Act 2026 (“the Environmental Governance Act”).

Part 1 of the Environmental Governance Act places duties on the Welsh Ministers, Natural Resource Wales (“NRW”) and certain public authorities to have regard to the Statement, or to guidance in the Statement, when applying their respective duties to apply the principles and to integrate environmental protection.

After the consultation period has ended a summary of the representations received and the Welsh Ministers’ response will be published. The Statement will also be laid in draft before the Senedd, with a document giving details of the consultation carried out and summarising the representations received and the Welsh Ministers’ response to them.

The responses to this consultation will inform the final wording of the Statement to ensure it is comprehensive and effective. Everyone is encouraged to contribute.

How to respond

The closing date for responses is 11 September 2026. Please respond using the online form or write to us at the below address or email:

Climate Change and Environmental Strategy Team
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

or by e-mail to cces.strategyandchangeteam@gov.wales

Further information and related documents

Large print, Braille and alternative language versions of this document are available on request.

Contact details

Climate Change and Environmental Strategy Team
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

Email: cces.strategyandchangeteam@gov.wales

This document is also available in Welsh

UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)

The Welsh Government will be data controller for Welsh Government consultations and for any personal data you provide as part of your response to the consultation.

Welsh Ministers have statutory powers they will rely on to process this personal data which will enable them to make informed decisions about how they exercise their public functions. The lawful basis for processing information in this data collection exercise is our public task; that is, exercising our official authority to undertake the core role and functions of the Welsh Government. (Art 6(1)(e))

Any response you send us will be seen in full by Welsh Government staff dealing with the issues which this consultation is about or planning future consultations. In the case of joint consultations this may also include other public authorities. Where the Welsh Government undertakes further analysis of consultation responses then this work may be commissioned to be carried out by an accredited third party (e.g. a research organisation or a consultancy company). Any such work will only be undertaken under contract. Welsh Government’s standard terms and conditions for such contracts set out strict requirements for the processing and safekeeping of personal data.

In order to show that the consultation was carried out properly, the Welsh Government intends to publish a summary of the responses to this document. We may also publish responses in full. Normally, the name and address (or part of the address) of the person or organisation who sent the response are published with the response. If you do not want your name or address published, please tell us this in writing when you send your response. We will then redact them before publishing.

You should also be aware of our responsibilities under Freedom of Information legislation and that the Welsh Government may be under a legal obligation to disclose some information.

If your details are published as part of the consultation response then these published reports will be retained indefinitely. Any of your data held otherwise by Welsh Government will be kept for no more than three years.

Your rights

Under the data protection legislation, you have the right:

to be informed of the personal data held about you and to access it
to require us to rectify inaccuracies in that data
to (in certain circumstances) object to or restrict processing
for (in certain circumstances) your data to be ‘erased’
to (in certain circumstances) data portability
to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is our independent regulator for data protection

For further details about the information the Welsh Government holds and its use, or if you want to exercise your rights under the UK GDPR, please see contact details below:

Data Protection Officer:

Welsh Government
Cathays Park
CARDIFF
CF10 3NQ

e-mail: dataprotectionofficer@gov.wales

The contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Office are:

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113

Website: https://ico.org.uk/

Background and context

The Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Act 2026 (“the Environmental Governance Act”) received Royal Assent on 27 April 2026.

Part 1 of the Environmental Governance Act sets out an environmental objective and principles, establishing a new, stronger legislative framework for environmental governance in Wales. It does this by imposing duties on the Welsh Ministers, Natural Resources Wales (“NRW”) and certain other public authorities to apply four environmental principles and to integrate environmental protection.

The duty imposed on the Welsh Ministers requires the Welsh Ministers, for the purpose of contributing to the environmental objective, to have special regard to the environmental principles when making policy in relation to Wales and integrate environmental protection into the making of such policy (section 3(1)).

A similar duty is imposed on NRW, so that NRW must have special regard to the environmental principles when making policy in relation to Wales and integrate environmental protection into the making of such policy (article 4A(1) of the Natural Resources Body for Wales (Establishment) Order 2012, inserted by section 4(2)).

Certain public authorities must, for the purpose of contributing to the environmental objective, have regard to the environmental principles and integrate environmental protection when carrying out functions in connection with the assessment of plans and programmes under the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes (Wales) Regulations 2004 (the “2004 Regulations”) (section 5(1)).

In complying with each of these duties, the Welsh Ministers, NRW or public authority (as the case may be) must have regard to the Statement, or to guidance in the Statement.

These duties are intended to provide the foundation for placing a high level of environmental protection and improvement of the environment at the heart of policy making and strategic environmental assessment in Wales. They are essential to contribute to protecting and improving the environment, mitigating and adapting to climate change and halting and reversing the decline in biodiversity. The Environmental Governance Act builds on and strengthens existing provisions in a wider Welsh legislative framework.

Purpose of this consultation

The aim of this consultation is to gather feedback on the draft Environmental Principles and Integrating Environmental Protection Statement (“the Statement”). This Statement is required to be prepared and published by the Welsh Ministers under sections 6 and 7 of the Environmental Governance Act. The draft Statement can be found in the Annex. We would welcome your views on any aspect of the draft Statement.

Legislative requirements for the Statement

Section 6(1) of the Environmental Governance Act requires the Welsh Ministers to prepare a statement explaining:

how they consider the environmental principles should be interpreted;
how they propose to comply with the duty in section 3(1);
how they propose to determine, for the purpose of section 3(4), whether a policy would have no effect or a negligible effect on the environment;
how the environmental principles relate to each other and to the duty in section 3(1)(b);
how the environmental principles and the duty in section 3(1)(b) relate to the environmental objective;
how the duties in section 3(1), section 5(1) and article 4A(1) of the Natural Resources Body for Wales (Establishment) Order 2012 relate to each other;
how the duty in section 3(1) relates to other powers and duties;
how they propose to demonstrate compliance with the duty in section 3(1).

Section 6(2) of the Environmental Governance Act requires the statement to include guidance to NRW about how:

to comply with the duty in article 4A(1) of the Natural Resources Body for Wales (Establishment) Order 2012 and how to do so in a way that gives effect to its general purpose in article 4 of that Order.
the environmental principles relate to each other and to the duty in article 4A(1)(b) of that Order.
the duty in article 4A(1) of the Order relates to other powers and duties.

Section 6(3) of the Environmental Governance Act requires the statement to include guidance to public authorities about how:

to comply with the duty in section 5(1).
how the environmental principles relate to each other and to the duty in section 5(1)(b).
how the environmental principles and the duty in section 5(1)(b) relate to the environmental objective.
how the duty in section 5(1) relates to other powers and duties.

This draft Statement intends to address each of these matters and also includes other matters the Welsh Ministers consider appropriate in accordance with section 6(4) of the Environmental Governance Act.

Consultation and collaboration

Section 7 of the Environmental Governance Act requires the Welsh Ministers to consult NRW, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, the Office of Environmental Governance Wales (“OEGW”) and such other persons as they consider appropriate when preparing a draft of the environmental principles and integrating environmental protection statement.

The Welsh Ministers are consulting these persons on the preparation of this draft Statement through this consultation and the consultee list set out below has been prepared taking account of these requirements. Members of the public and others are also invited to respond.

The OEGW is not consulted as the requirement to consult OEGW is not yet in force, until the OEGW is fully operational.

The draft Statement has been prepared following collaboration with external and internal stakeholders.

As noted above, following consultation a copy of the draft Statement will be laid before the Senedd in accordance with the requirements of section 7 of the Environmental Governance Act.

Welsh language

The Welsh Government has a statutory obligation to fully consider the effects of our work on the Welsh Language. This means any Welsh Government policy should consider how our policies affect the language and can best support its promotion and facilitation. Understanding impacts not only on those who speak Welsh, but also those who are or wish to learn the language in future helps us identify positive, negative and neutral Welsh language policy implications.

The natural environment of Wales has played a significant role in shaping the language. The rugged landscapes, including mountains, valleys, and coastlines, have historically isolated communities, allowing the Welsh language to develop unique dialects and maintain its distinctiveness. Additionally, the natural beauty of Wales has inspired a rich tradition of Welsh poetry and literature, further embedding the language in the cultural identity of the region. Efforts to preserve the Welsh language are closely tied to environmental policies, as sustainable management of natural resources is seen as essential for maintaining the cultural heritage and well-being of communities throughout Wales including Welsh-speaking communities.

The proposals relating to the introduction of environmental principles into Welsh law will neither support nor detract from Theme 2 of Cymraeg 2050. The duties on Welsh Ministers, NRW and certain other public authorities to apply the environmental principles, and to integrate environmental protection, sit alongside their wider duties and responsibilities, including those towards the Welsh Language.

The full Welsh Language Impact Assessment undertaken for the Environmental Governance Act has been published in its Regulatory Impact Assessment.

The Welsh Government has committed to ensuring that all documentation produced by the proposals within the Environmental Governance Act will be in accordance with the Welsh Language Standards. Policy officials engaged with the Welsh Language Commissioner throughout the development of the Environmental Governance Act.