Apr 14 2004
The UK government has welcomed a new report on its progress over the past five years towards creating a sustainable society.
The Sustainable Development Commission's report, called 'Shows Promise: But Must Try Harder', was published today. The Commission was set up by the government to promote sustainable development in the UK, review progress and encourage good practice.
It takes as its starting point the government's 1999 sustainable development strategy, 'A better quality of life', and measures performance so far.
Although more work needs to be done to embed sustainable development at the heart of government and society, the Commission's report highlights promising developments in the areas of air quality, river water quality and wildlife.
As well as being a useful assessment of past and present efforts, the report will contribute to the government's future work on sustainable development and will feed into the imminent review of the UK sustainable development strategy.
This strategy will be launched on 21 April, when Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett will join ministers from across government at a sustainable development conference.
Source: 10 Downing St