National Land Use Policies

UK land use is governed by a complex patchwork of policies covering a range of sectors and outcomes – the environment, farming, housing, energy and planning.

These are designed to contribute to UK-wide or nation-specific targets relating to net zero, biodiversity, food security, social wellbeing and infrastructure – many of which are themselves created with international commitments in mind.

The majority of policies developed to achieve these targets, in particular farming and the environment, are devolved to the administrations of the four nations, and in some instances are the responsibility of local or regional authorities.

These policies will reflect national characteristics – landscapes, farming systems, soil types, climates – even language alongside other circumstances – existing agricultural emissions and other pollutants, technology uptake, and land ownership rules.

Net Zero targets and Delivery strategies

The UK has a nationwide commitment to achieve net zero by 2050. The UK’s climate action plan to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts is written into UK law through the Climate Change Act (2008) and implemented through the Net Zero Strategy and Net Zero Growth Plan.

The strategy includes legally binding 5 yearly ‘Carbon Budgets’ to ensure the UK meets its emissions reductions commitments.The budgets are fixed in advance and set five-year caps on the total greenhouse gas emissions allowed The fourth carbon budget runs from 2023–27 and fifth from 2028–32.

Emissions calculations include land use, alongside other sectors of the economy – transport, energy etc, however there is no specific target for land use.

The devolved administrations also have their own targets and strategies for reaching Net Zero.

The Scottish Climate Change Act 2019 updated the original 2009 Act with more ambitious targets for Scotland to meet Net Zero by 2045.
Greenhouse gas emissions in Wales are regulated by the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 which originally included a target to reduce emissions by at least 80% by 2050, but this was later increased to be fully Net Zero by 2050.
In Northern Ireland the 2022 Climate Change Act created a target for Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with bridging targets including at least a 48% reduction in net emissions by 2030.

These targets are partially driven by the 2015 Paris Agreement, which is a legally binding international treaty on climate change, that commits signatories to contribute to global emission reductions that limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C and to pursue efforts towards 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This requires countries to submit climate action plans to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts every five years, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).

Other targets

Net Zero is just one of a number of wider environmental targets set by governments that will require large-scale changes in the way land is used:

These include targets for nature recovery that are encompassed in the 30×30 commitment, which is an aim to protect and conserve at least 30% of UK land and sea for biodiversity by 2030.
Devolved governments also have their own specific targets for biodiversity- England hopes to halt species population decline by 2030, while in Scotland the Strategic Vision sets out plans to restore and regenerate biodiversity across land, freshwater and seas by 2045.
There are several UK Government and devolved government commitments to achieve what is known as a ‘Just Transition’ (i.e. avoiding the potential justice and human rights issues that can arise from land use actions that aim to help meet climate and environmental targets- without which inequalities can be exacerbated). Through COP the UK has signed international agreements that address the Just Transition, but devolved legislation goes further in some cases to embed these principles. The Scottish government has set up a Just Transition Commission to specifically advise the government on the topic, while Northern Ireland is in the process of creating a Commission and Wales is reviewing consultation responses on setting up a Just Transition Framework.

National Strategies

Agriculture and Environment are devolved policy areas under the devolution settlements of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This means that since the UK left the EU, each administration has responsibility for shaping new domestic policies, outlined in dedicated Environment and Agriculture Acts.

The Agriculture (2020) and Environment (2021) Acts are the major drivers of policy for England, which facilitate strategies and action plans for net zero, biomass production, woodland and peat. The former is the basis for the Agricultural Transition Plan and the latter underpins the statutory Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), which established policy objectives as legal commitments.
In Wales, The Well-Being of Future Generations Act (2015) includes a ‘Global Ethical’ commitment which means Wales cannot offshore its footprint, while the Environment Act and Agriculture (Wales) Bill (2023) provides the statutory background.
The 2019 Climate Change (Scotland) Act & Emissions Reduction Targets Act drives much net zero policy in Scotland
The Northern Ireland Climate Change Act (‘The Act’) 2022 designates targets for overall emissions reductions. Ammonia and Peatland Strategies play a key role within this.

Delivery Policies

The Acts above provide the statutory background for the delivery mechanisms. These are the major drivers of policy, facilitating the creation of regulatory frameworks for environmental protection, farm incentive schemes (to replace the Common Agriculture Policy), and dedicated funding mechanisms for nature recovery and biodiversity, for example:

In England the principle of ‘public money for public goods’ is the foundation of the Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMs), which has three components: Sustainable Farming Incentive; Countryside Stewardship; and Landscape Recovery (which will take areas out of agriculture for nature recovery). ELM was launched in 2019 and updated in 2024.
Implementation of Scottish strategies is mediated through the Scottish Land Commission established in 2017 to drive “a programme of land reform spanning both urban and rural land, to create a Scotland where land is owned and used in ways that are fair, responsible and productive.” Alongside a Community Wealth Building approach to economic development, these strategies focus decision making and spending on land use around maximising community benefits.
In Wales, the National Forest for Wales commitment has been established to create a network of woodland across the country. This will involve the protection of existing woodland and the creation of a large amount of new forest, and is implemented through a series of grants, as well as the requirement for those receiving farm subsidy payments to dedicate 10% of their land to forestry.

UK-wide policy

While the bulk of land use policy is devolved, there are several UK policies that impact land use, while a number of delivery mechanisms overlap across two nations or Great Britain as a whole. These include:

The Internal Market Act 2020 seeks to establish a level economic playing field across the UK for trade and taxation.
International trade is still a ‘reserved power’. This means new trade deals are signed by (and are binding for) the UK as a whole.
The 2034 Nature Markets Framework aims to support nature markets across the UK while taking into account devolved ambitions, based on the success of the UK-scale Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code.

Local frameworks

England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each have separate National or Regional Planning Policy Frameworks. These provide long-term guidance frameworks for the spatial development in the respective parts of the country, but do not allocate land for specific uses or contain legally binding elements.

Also relevant are Local Nature Recovery Strategies and Biodiversity Net Gain targets which sets out how developers must ensure that there must be a net benefit for biodiversity from development which may include funding habitat creation elsewhere.

Local authorities are responsible for local land-use planning, public housing and planning applications.