The UK and Brexit – Environmental opportunity or disaster?

Richard MACRORY

doi:10.25167/osap.4273

Published: 2021-09-02

Vol. 19 No. 2 (2021)

The UK and Brexit – Environmental opportunity or disaster?

Richard MACRORY

The Opole Studies in Administration and Law

Section: Articles

https://doi.org/10.25167/osap.4273

Abstract

The environmental implications of the UK leaving the EU have yet to be fully realized, but the picture is by no means all negative. Initially, as far as possible, all EU environmental legislation continues to apply in the interests of regulatory certainty but divergences are beginning to emerge. Brexit has led to the proposed establishment of a new independent environmental watchdog, and the Government has committed itself to ambitious environmental goals. The Common Agricultural Policy will be replaced by financial schemes that will pay farmers only for public benefits, mainly concerning the environment. At the same time, a consequence of Brexit is that that the UK will see increasing divergencies in environmental law and policy within its devolved administrations.

Keywords:

Brexit, Environmental divergence, UK environmental policy and law

Download files

PDF

Citation rules

MACRORY, R. (2021). The UK and Brexit – Environmental opportunity or disaster?. The Opole Studies in Administration and Law, 19(2), 69–86. https://doi.org/10.25167/osap.4273

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References

Ashby, Eric and Anderson, Mary. 1981. The Politics of Clean Air. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Google Scholar

Carbon Brief. 2021. Analysis: UK is now halfway to meeting its ‘net-zero emissions target. 21 March 2021 On-line : https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uk-is-now-halfway-tomeeting-
Google Scholar

its-net-zero-emissions-target. accessed: 25/03/21.
Google Scholar

Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 2018. Sustainable Fisheries for future
Google Scholar

generations. Cm 9660.
Google Scholar

Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs. 2020. Due Diligence on forest risk
Google Scholar

commodities: Consultation Document.
Google Scholar

Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs. 2021. The regulation of genetic technologies:
Google Scholar

Consultation Document.
Google Scholar

Department for Exiting the European Union. 2017. Legislating for the United Kingdom’s
Google Scholar

withdrawal from the European Union Cm 9446.
Google Scholar

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. 2021. Industrial Decarbonisation
Google Scholar

Strategy.
Google Scholar

Department of Transport. 2020. Decarbonising Transport – Setting the Challenge.
Google Scholar

European Commission. 2018. Communication from the Commission on the State of Play of
Google Scholar

the Common Fisheries Policy. Com( 2017) 368 final.
Google Scholar

European Union and United Kingdom. 2020. Trade and Co-operation Agreement between
Google Scholar

the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Authority on the one part, and the
Google Scholar

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of the other part, 24 December 2020.
Google Scholar

Greener UK. 2018. Environment principles and governance after the UK leaves the EU
Google Scholar

https://greeneruk.org/sites/default/files/download/2018-10/Greener_UK_response_to_Defra_
Google Scholar

EPG_consultation_310718_0.pdf accessed 5/6/21.
Google Scholar

HM Government. 2018. A Green Future: Our 25 year Plan to Improve the Environment.
Google Scholar

HM Treasury. 2020. Net Zero Review: Interim Report December 2020.
Google Scholar

House of Commons Library. 2020. The Agricultural Act 2020 Briefing Paper CBP 8702.
Google Scholar

House of Commons Library. 2021. End of Brexit Transition: chemicals regulation (REACH)
Google Scholar

Briefing Paper CBP 8403.
Google Scholar

House of Lords European Union Committee. 2017. Brexit: environment and Climate Change
Google Scholar

th Report of Session 2016-19 HL Paper 109.
Google Scholar

Jordan, Andrew. 2002. European Union Environmental Policy and Britain. In The Europeanization
Google Scholar

of British Environmental Policy, Andrew Jordan, 19-43. London: Palgrave.
Google Scholar

Kramer, Ludwig. 2018. EU Environmental Law. London: Sweet and Maxwell.
Google Scholar

Macrory, Richard . 1991. Environmental Law: Shifting Discretions and the New Formalism.
Google Scholar

In Frontiers of Environmental Law, ed. Owen Lomas, 8-23. London: Chancery Law.
Google Scholar

Macrory, Richard. 2019. The Office for Environmental Protection – Environmental Fig-Leaf
Google Scholar

or Game Changer? Environmental Law and Management (2019) 31 ELM 1-5.
Google Scholar

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. 2020. White Paper: Planning
Google Scholar

for the Future.
Google Scholar

Scottish Government. 2019. Protecting Scotland’s Future: the Programme for Scotland 2019-2020.
Google Scholar

UK Environmental Law Association. 2017. Brexit and Environmental Law: Enforcement and
Google Scholar

Political Accountability Issues.
Google Scholar

UK Government. 2021. UK enshrines new target in law to slash emissions by 78% by 2035.
Google Scholar

Press Release 20 April 2021.
Google Scholar

Wenneras, Pal. 2007. The Enforcement of EC Environmental Law. Oxford: Oxford University
Google Scholar

Press.
Google Scholar

Zglinski, Jan. 2018. The rise of deference: the margin of appreciation and decentralized review
Google Scholar

in EU free movement law. (2018) 55(5) CMLR 1341-1385.
Google Scholar

Directive 91/692 on standardizing and rationalizing reports on the implementation of certain
Google Scholar

Directives relating to the environment.
Google Scholar

Directive 2001/18 on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms.
Google Scholar

Regulation 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).
Google Scholar

Regulation 1107/2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market.
Google Scholar

Regulation 995/2010 laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market.
Google Scholar

Regulation 2019/2022 laying down eco-design requirements for household dishwashers pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC (nine other regulations were adopted by the European
Google Scholar

Commission at the same time covering other classes of product).
Google Scholar

Regulation 2020/2174 amending Annexes IC, III, IIIA, IV, V, VII and VIII to Regulation (EC)
Google Scholar

No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on shipments of waste.
Google Scholar

Agriculture Act 2020
Google Scholar

Alkali etc Works Regulation Act 1881
Google Scholar

Environment Bill 2021
Google Scholar

European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2020
Google Scholar

European Union (Withdrawal Act) 2018
Google Scholar

Fisheries Act 2020
Google Scholar

UK Internal Market Act 2020
Google Scholar

Water Act 1945
Google Scholar