Frequently asked questions: a guide for parliamentarians and their advisors

There has recently been a lot of policy churn and public discourse around how England can fulfil ambitious targets for economic growth as well as its targets for nature recovery. In this space there is a lot of generic or abstract guidance and a lot of specific responses to legislative moments. However, this can leave gaps in knowledge and understanding that mean it is hard to interpret arguments around the specifics of a particular piece of proposed legislation with reference to generic guidance.

This briefing aims to fill this gap by providing clear, objective and succinct answers to common questions about the issues underpinning public debate, and summarising evidence that could inform current decision-making with respect to the relationship between nature and economic development.

We aim this briefing at parliamentarians and their advisors, and we cover the issues from the perspective of applied conservation scientists who have research expertise in biodiversity net gain, biodiversity metrics, environmental economics, nature finance, and nature recovery.

Authors: Natalie Duffus, E.J. Milner-Gulland, Sophus O.S.E. zu Ermgassen and Isobel Hawkins
Published: October 2025, University of Oxford