Impact of EU membership
The UK’s EU membership has had a fundamental impact on UK environmental legislation. UK climate change policy has also become increasingly enmeshed in EU policy.
EU environmental law includes areas such as nature and biodiversity, waste and recycling, air quality and chemicals regulation. The EU’s climate action measures include emissions trading, energy efficiency standards and support for low carbon technologies.
The UK has strong domestic climate-change legislation. Along with other Member States, the UK has ratified the Paris climate change agreement. However, EU law heavily influences UK environment policy.
EU institutions, in particular the European Commission and the ECJ, monitor and enforce the implementation of EU law. Both institutions have driven improvements to the UK’s environment, particularly through the threat of infraction proceedings.
Implications of Brexit
The UK may have left the EU, but the UK’s environment will remain inextricably linked to the environment of Europe. In many areas, such as species conservation or air and water quality, it is vital for the UK and the EU to continue to co-operate. This is essential to protect the shared European environment, whether terrestrial, marine, or atmospheric.
Brexit provides an opportunity to amend or repeal existing laws. However, the environment and those seeking to preserve or invest in it, need long-term policy stability. Maintaining this stability is crucial to ensure legal protections for the UK’s environment remain complete and effective.
Diminished protections
Many were concerned that Brexit will diminish environmental protections and ambitions. The mere act of transposing EU environmental law into domestic law will be complex and extensive.
The UK will need its own effective enforcement mechanisms to sanction non-compliance with environmental legal objectives. Governmental self-regulation post-Brexit is likely to be a poor substitute for the monitoring and enforcement provided by EU institutions.
To continue to trade freely with the EU, the UK needs to comply with, or mirror EU environmental standards (for example, in relation to chemical regulations.) Post-Brexit, the UK has no formal role in new EU standards, so the UK government relies on informal influence.
Greener UK
Several environmental bodies are collaborating to monitor and manage the risk of Brexit. They have come together in “Greener UK”, tracking Brexit to make sure that environmental protections do not weaken or disappear. They are also using the catalyst of Brexit to recommend ways to improve and enhance the UK’s environment. For more details, please visit the Greener UK website.
Greener UK has created a ‘Brexit risk-tracker’ to flag the risks arising from Brexit in all the main areas of environmental protection (from ‘A to W’ – from air pollution to water) and the government’s track record. See Figure 9.1 for the top-level view, which is supported by much more detail.
Friends of the Earth is one of the 13 organisations that formed Greener UK. Other coalition members include: Campaign to Protect Rural England, National Trust, RSPB, Woodland Trust, and WWF.
The Marine Conservation Society is one of 29 organisations that share Greener UK’s goals and align their own activities with Greener UK where appropriate.