{"id":695,"date":"2020-07-31T07:56:30","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T07:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/environmental-justice-research-unit\/?p=695"},"modified":"2020-07-31T07:56:35","modified_gmt":"2020-07-31T07:56:35","slug":"will-the-uk-be-the-next-world-leader-on-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-justice\/will-the-uk-be-the-next-world-leader-on-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the UK be the next world leader on climate change?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Maighdlin Mcilvaney, third year LLB student on the Environmental Law and Justice module of Cardiff School of Law and Politics <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK Government\u2019s goal<\/a> is to be the first generation to \u201cleave our environment in a\nbetter state than we found it\u201d. Indicating an intent to have a strong\nenvironmental policy \u2013 but does this mean that the UK wants to be the next\nworld leader on climate change? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo by Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Leaving the EU \u2013 \u201ca\nonce-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this country\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On the 23rd<\/sup> of June 2016, the citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. For many, including myself, this was frightening as in a post-Brexit world, the UK is in danger of losing the fantastic environmental safeguards of the EU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) reported<\/a> that the EU has \u201cdeveloped probably the most complete and influential body of environmental law and policy in the world\u201d. It also outlined<\/a> that EU policy is \u201cthe most mature and coherent\u201d and provides \u201ca point of reference to third countries\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU has global influence specifically\nover climate change issues whereby this strong harmonisation has led to a\nsignificant influence in raising environmental standards throughout Europe. Another\nIEEP report<\/a> has revealed\nthat dealing with a range of issues with a common approach has helped\nmember states \u201cachieve results they could never have achieved on their own\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nknock-on effect to the rest of the world, particularly to countries that export\nto the EU, is colloquially known as \u201cThe\nBrussels Effect\u201d. Legal scholar Anu Bradford wrote a paper<\/a> that summarises how an \u201cunderestimated aspect of European power\u201d is the\n\u201cunilateral power to regulate global markets”. In another paper<\/a>,  Joanne Scott examined the global reach of\nEU law: the EU is a \u201cglobal regulatory power\u201d that can \u201cinfluence the\nnature and content of third country and international law\u201d. This\nphenomenon reiterates the EU\u2019s influence over the rest of the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nEU is a comprehensive and ambitious body of environmental law with global reach,\ncurrently standing as the world leader<\/a> in fighting climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Craig Bennett,\ncampaign director for Friends of the Earth<\/a> (FoE),\nwrote an article<\/a> for\nthe Guardian concerning his sadness for leaving the EU. Bennett noted that \u201cabout\n70% of our environmental safeguards and legislation is European legislation \u2013\nand this is now at risk\u201d. According to Bennett, leaving the EU will mean that\nwe no longer participate within the \u201cmost\ncomplete and influential body\u201d for environmental law \u2013 it will be extremely\nhard for the UK to compete against this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nthe UK to deliver a clean, green Brexit, it should continue to improve\nenvironmental standards by working to become an international leader on climate\nchange. By working with our European and international neighbours on\nenvironmental challenges. The UK should commit to stringent laws that either\nreflect those from EU or, even better, exceed them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ClientEarth\nrecommends<\/a> a hybrid approach that argues the UK should enshrine general EU environmental principles\ninto primary legislation in the UK. This is because these principles have\noperated as a coherent set, driving towards the ultimate policy goal of\nenvironmental protection and sustainable development, and are often utilised in\ncombination. Remaining aligned with EU policy will encourage focus on\nenvironmental protection and sustainable development \u2013 driving a green Brexit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 2018 Environmental Bill<\/a>, Michael Gove (the then DEFRA Secretary of State) maintained the claim that \u2018leaving the EU is a\nonce-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this country to help make our planet\ncleaner, greener, healthier and happier\u2019. Suggesting that the EU is the one\nholding the UK back and Brexit is a chance for the UK to take charge as a world\nleader on climate change; a post-Brexit UK will see stronger developments in\nthe UK\u2019s environmental policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan\nto Improve the Environment’ \u2013 \u201c<\/em>leaving our environment in a better state than we found it\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The 25-Year Environment Plan<\/a> was announced in 2016, however, the country\u2019s vote to leave the EU led to a rethink of some of the content. The plan became significant in driving the direction of the government\u2019s environmental policy post Brexit. It attempts to be a comprehensive strategy for England\u2019s natural environment; forming part of the UK Government\u2019s goal to \u201cleave our environment in a better state than we found it\u201d and delivering a Green Brexit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan states\nthat all possible action\nto mitigate climate change will be taken. To summarise the targets of the plan,\nthe actions are illustrated<\/a>, at a glance, as such: cutting greenhouse gas\nemissions; ensuring climate change is considered in decision making; and\nimplementing a sustainable and effective second National Adaptation programme. On\nthe face of it, the plan looks pretty strong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nplan, however, comes with several flaws. The government\u2019s 25-year plan lacks substance\nand detail and is significantly weaker than EU laws in some areas, requiring a\nmore consultative approach moving forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nInstitution of Environmental Sciences (IES) made the following recommendation<\/a> in relation to the plan: \u201cFor a long-term environment plan to be\nsuccessful, its principles must be embedded in all areas of government\npolicy-making and have the support of leaders across the government. Governance\nmechanisms and resources must now be put in place to make this vision a\nreality\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IES noted that \u201cthis vision will only become a reality if\nthe Government is held accountable for its delivery\u201d. So, has the government\ndesigned a body that can hold the government to account, to efficiently deliver\nthese visions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental\nBill \u2013 \u201cOur vision: World-leading law for a greener future\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The\n2020 Environment Bill<\/a> puts the\nenvironment at the centre of policy making, intended to aid in delivering the government\u2019s\nmanifesto commitment. As according to the policy statement, the UK commits to the\n\u201cmost ambitious<\/a>\u201d environmental programme of any country on\nearth through maximizing upon the opportunities created\nby leaving the European Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bill announces,\n\u201ca world-leading, statutory and independent environment body: The Office for\nEnvironmental Protection (OEP)\u201d. This body is designed to scrutinise\nenvironmental policy and law, investigating complaints, and acting to ensure environmental\nlaw is appropriately implemented. In other words, it is the new European\nCommission (but not quite and only for England). The OEP should ensure England\ncontinues to drive forward ambitious action that tackles climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OEP, however, has strikingly weak legal enforcement powers. The Bill mentions that the OEP may take the government and public\nbodies to court. Courts then have the power to issue fines, should they deem it\nappropriate. There is no mention of the OEP having this same power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\necologist published an article<\/a> that discussed the Environmental impact of\nBrexit. They spoke to Tom Fyans<\/a>, Director\nof Campaigns and Policy at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, who spoke on\nthe issue of the OEP. He said \u201cwe are seriously concerned that the proposed OEP\nwill lack the true independence required to hold the government to account\u201d\nnoting that there are \u201cunanswered questions\u201d with \u201chow it will engage with\nclimate change \u2013 the greatest threat to the countryside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan Bartley<\/a>, co-leader of the Green Party, also criticised the\nOEP in an piece<\/a> published by the Independent. He argues \u201cthis\ngovernment is not serious about its environmental commitments\u2026 the body that is\nsupposed to hold the government to account won\u2019t even have power to fine it\u201d. In\nthe same article, Debbie Tripley<\/a>, director of environmental policy and\nadvocacy for WWF, said: \u201cThe existing EU regulator can currently impose\nfines, and we need to see that same power in the UK\u201d otherwise the government\nwill not keep \u201cits promise to leave our environment in a better state for\nfuture generations\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ostensibly,\nBrexit appears hopeful for the UK\u2019s environmental policy. There is clear\nintention that the UK wants to maximise opportunities created by leaving the EU \u2013 underpinning\nthe goal of a Green Brexit. Although, the risk of a no-deal Brexit could be\ndetrimental. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will the UK chose a Clean\nBrexit or Dirty Brexit<\/a>? We can only hope that the UK will\nstep up and take this once-in-a-life-time opportunity to become the next world\nleader on climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU sets an international gold standard on\nenvironmental policy. The UK\u2019s ambition is admirable, but success will be\ndifficult to achieve. Becoming a world leader on climate change will take far\nmore effort than simply replicating EU standards. There\nis a lot of room for improvement before the UK can even be considered as a\nstrong contender. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OEP may have a significant role in contributing to\npolitical accountability and has some effective legal powers but its\nenforcement capabilities are weak. This is concerning considering its key\npurpose is to be \u201cworld-leading\u201d. The vision of the 25-Year Plan should not be lost and the\ngovernment needs to be regulated effectively. If not, the UK will fall short of\nbecoming the world leader on climate change and the environment will suffer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Maighdlin Mcilvaney, third year LLB student on the Environmental Law and Justice module of Cardiff School of Law and Politics The UK Government\u2019s goal is to be the first […]","protected":false},"author":1742,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-climate-change"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8SO1T-bd","jetpack-related-posts":[],"meta_box":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-justice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-justice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-justice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-justice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1742"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-justice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=695"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-justice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":698,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-justice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695\/revisions\/698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-justice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-justice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/centre-for-environmental-justice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}