In a budget statement where the Chancellor refrained from using the words 'Brexit' or 'Referendum' even once, it is less surprising that the environment failed to get a mention. Our economists sat through the Chancellor's speech and thought they would get to go home early given the lack of environmental news until they found a few breadcrumbs in the Budget document. Here is what they found...

First, the good news...

Currently 4.2% of the money raised from taxing landfill goes to a communities fund and £13 million of that supports environmental projects. That tax has been very successful in reducing the amount of waste going to landfill which also means that the environment gets less money. We, with others asked for the cap to rise from 4.2% to 6%. In the end, the Chancellor gave us 5.3%, so that is good news as it means we retain an important funding source for nature conservation projects.

Species like the tree pipit are flourishing at RSPB Broadwater Warren thanks to funding from the Landfill Community Fund (Photo credit, Graham Catley)

Second, the bad news....

Defra's budget has been cut by 54% this decade in real terms, and we now know that the Chancellor is asking departments to plan for another 3-6% cut. That will hurt an already small budget and affect the departments capacity to meet its environmental objectives..

Third, the news that has been postponed until a future date...

The Levy Control Framework is the system that controls subsidies for renewable energy. Yet, its future is uncertain which means future support for renewables is uncertain which of course affects investor confidence and, in turn, our ability to wean ourselves of fossil fuels.  We were told we would hear about the future of the LCF this spring.  We were told today that we would now hear government plans in the autumn.

The Carbon price is the tool used to make sure that industries remain properly incentivised to decarbonise. It is set at £18/tonne and is linked to the EU emissions trading scheme (the Swede’s charge £130/tonne) but “Starting in 2021-22, the government will target a total carbon price and set the specific tax rate at a later date”. So the UK may be moving towards a Carbon tax.  But again, we won't know government plans until the autumn.

Air quality is hitting headlines in the UK, France and in China as people start to become aware of the damage being caused to their health. Attention has focused on the impact of diesel cars. We found out today that the government will consult in spring and talk about taxing diesel vehicles..  Again, we will hear about their decision in the autumn.

Clearly, all these promises raise expectations that the next time the Chancellor stands up to address the House of Commons he will deliver a "green budget”. The UK Government will certainly need to do something on all of these issues as well as explain how they will fund the 25 year environment plan they have promised which remains tantalisingly under wraps.

We, of course, remain optimistic, but the environmental challenges require urgent attention and it is time the UK Government showed that it was taking these issues seriously.  Publishing the 25 year environment plan would be an excellent start.