Thérèse Coffey accused of undermining Cop15 talks with weak targets

Environment secretary disappoints campaigners by failing to set overall targets for river health and protected habitats

The UK government has undermined talks at the Cop15 biodiversity conference by failing to set targets for water quality or habitat protections in England, campaigners have said.

Environmental experts have been disappointed by the delayed legally binding targets mandated by the 2021 Environment Act, which were released on Friday, six weeks after the deadline.