The secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, also referred to as the environment secretary, is a secretary of state in the

Government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

, with overall responsibility for the

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental quality, environmenta ...

(Defra). The incumbent is a member of the

Cabinet of the United Kingdom The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of the Government of the United Kingdom. A committee of the Privy Council (United Kingdom), Privy Council, it is chaired by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime M ...

. The office holder works alongside the other Defra ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs.

Responsibilities

The secretary of state has two main responsibilities at the

, to: *bear overall responsibility for all departmental issues. *lobby for the United Kingdom in other international negotiations on sustainable development and climate change.

List of environment secretaries

Timeline of environment secretaries

References

{{Cabinet positions in the United Kingdom Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Agriculture in England Ministerial offices in the United Kingdom Rural society in the United Kingdom 2001 establishments in the United Kingdom pl:Ministrowie środowiska Wielkiej Brytanii