Today, on World Bee Day 2025, we celebrate a landmark victory for pollinators across the UK. Earlier this year, the UK Government announced it will reject the emergency use of a bee-threatening neonicotinoid pesticide—a huge win for wildlife. For decades, neonicotinoids—neurotoxic chemicals—have been linked to declining bee populations, disrupting their ability to navigate, forage, and reproduce. This matters to us all—pollinators are essential to food security, supporting the production of crops we eat every day.
And now we want to see the Government fulfil its promise to fully implement the entire prohibition of the use of neonicotinoids. Their removal from our fields is not only a win for pollinators, but for the ecosystems that depend on them.
This year’s World Bee Day theme—“Bee inspired by nature to nourish us all”—reminds us how deeply our wellbeing is tied to the natural world. Bees—from the hardworking honeybee to the much-loved bumblebee and the many solitary bee species—are unsung heroes of our food systems and ecosystems. Aided by wasps, flies, beetles and butterflies they pollinate 75% of our food crops and countless wild plants, helping to keep both our plates and our planet thriving. When we protect bees, we’re not just safeguarding a single species—we’re helping to restore nature, support farming, and strengthen resilience to climate breakdown.
Yet bees and other pollinators remain under threat. Habitat loss, intensive agriculture, new generations of pesticides, and the growing impacts of climate change continue to put pressure on pollinators.
Bees might be small, but their impact is huge—they’re vital to our food, our ecosystems, and our future. This World Bee Day, we’re not just marking a win—a decision to reject the emergency use of neonicotinoids—we’re showing what REAL change looks like when people come together and demand better. But this is just the start. Nature needs more than symbolic wins—it needs systemic change.
That’s why I’m proud to support the Climate and Nature Bill—the only piece of legislation in the UK that delivers a joined-up, science-led approach to tackling both the climate emergency and nature crisis. The CAN Bill sets out a comprehensive plan to cut emissions in line with our fair share of the Paris Agreement, and to halt and reverse nature decline by 2030—a goal that is critical to protecting pollinators and the food security they underpin.
We’re already witnessing the impact of ecological breakdown: UK bumblebee populations are in decline, with numbers falling to their lowest recorded levels in 2024. This is why people from across the country are calling for urgent REAL change for climate and nature—and have signed the open letter to Keir Starmer, urging him to give the CAN Bill an emergency debate in Parliament.
As I have said before, and believe even more strongly now:
“Our wild bees are in trouble – many have been declining for decades, driven out by habitat loss and pesticides. We need our bees, and our bees need the Climate and Nature Bill.”
Bees can’t speak for themselves—but we can. So this World Bee Day, I urge policymakers, farmers, organisations and citizens across the UK to support the Climate and Nature Bill and back a bold, long-term vision for environmental recovery.
Let’s move beyond short-term fixes, and give bees—and the wider ecosystem they support—the protection they urgently need. Let’s use this milestone as momentum. Together, let’s push for bold action, joined-up solutions, lasting environmental recovery—and a future where pollinators, and people, can thrive.
Sign the open letter to Keir Starmer—and call for REAL CHANGE for climate and nature.
