Brexit and the Environment

So here we are, the six month count down to us officially leaving the EU has started and whilst all the talk all over the media has been about immigration and business I've been wondering about the environment (a particularly vague subject when it comes to the information we've been getting).  Information has been scares and without any final outcomes from the talks yet it's difficult to know exactly where the environment stands on this Government's agenda.

There are some things to be positive about, such as the fact that the UK Government has actually been one of the main driving forces at setting higher climate change ambitions and in attempted to green up the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).  This government has made quite a few noises about a 'greener Brexit' producing their 25 Year Environmental Plan (25YEP) in January of this year and lots of positive noises coming from ministers' speeches with Teresa May insisting the Brexit will not mean the lowering of environmental standards.  This could also be seen as an opportunity to improve what are now the CAP and Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), both of which are associated with environmental problems and unsustainable overproduction.  

However, the Conservative Party hasn't exactly got a great reputation when it comes to the environment and climate change, with a number of their politicians hinting that this Government, despite the rhetoric, is actually wanting to lax the policies we already have in place.  In fact, our own Environment Secretary, Michael Grove, stated that he believes the EU Bird Directive and Habitats Directive should be reformed or overturned once we leave the EU. Worrying.  And then there's the 25YEP.  On the surface it seems good (it's 155 pages and quite dry, but stick with it), but then you look at it closely it's pretty vague on details with a lot of lovely sounding goals and not a lot of information on how we're going to get there or what is going to be put in place to ensure they happen.  Call be cynical but I don't really trust politicians when it comes to words without any backing.

So here are the things that I'm worrying about:

• CAP and CFP.  As I've said before, whilst there have been attempts to improve both of these policies throughout the EU, there has been some issues with how 'green' and sustainable they have been and leaving the EU could be a great opportunity for us to improve on these in the UK.  As always we are getting mixed messages from the politicians on this one, but the thing that worries me to most is trade.  It sounds weird I know, but here's the thing.  If (or more probably when) we open our market up to more people other then the EU we will open the probability that we will be seeing products from other areas which are much cheaper due to their lower standards in environmental and social polices, undercutting our domestic products.  Whilst I would love to believe that we as a nation would support our homegrown products by buying the more expensive, more environmentally friendly items we all know how that is actually going to go.  The result is likely to be a lowering of our environmental policies to allow domestic trade to compete with the international trade.  Not only would this mean no improvements on CAP and CFP, but a reduction in the policies we already have in place.
• Fighting Climate Change.  On the surface this is an area we possibly don't need to worry too much about, after all we are part of a number of international commitments, including the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCC - you would think they would find a shorter name), have our own UK Climate Change Act (CCA) 2008, and an independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) which advises our government.  However, the EU has much stricter goals and timescales then the international community, and acts as a way of keeping track of our progress as well as providing the proverbial stick whenever we fail in the goals set.  Whilst the CCC is great at advising the government it has no actual enforcement powers to ensure we actually carry out the work needed, and this means that there is no real incentive to actually fight climate change once we leave the EU.
• The EU Birds Directive and EU Habitats Directive.  Unlike climate change there is no real international agreement on these which could hold the UK accountable.  Whilst we do have sites that are classified as SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) they don't necessarily stop development in the same way these EU Directives have done (anyone remember that particular golf course built on part of Foveran Links, a SSSI site in Aberdeenshire, which is now 'partially destroyed').  The RSPB have suggested in a Guardian article that since the Natura 2000 and Habitats Directive have come into place they have reduced the loss of protected sites from 15% per year to just 1%.  The loss of these will be quite a blow and this is perhaps the area where the most pressure will need to be put on the Government to ensure that these areas remain protected after 2019 with policies that don't just fall away when money and development come knocking.
• Funding.  The UK has received a large amount of funding from the EU for research.  Figures from The Royal Society has shown that we received 8.8 million Euro between 2007 - 2013 and Greenpeace has shown that in the EU budget for 2014 - 2020 the UK will have received around 5.8 million Euro to funding projects supporting the environment and the fight against climate change.  This funding will need to found from the UK's own coffers and the worry that the money may be put 'to better use' reducing our ability to help protect our environment both locally and globally.
• Accountability.  Perhaps the thing that worries me the most is who is going to hold us accountable.  Whilst we are in the EU we have standards we have to adhere to and which are monitored and scrutinised with all the necessary reports.  There is no hiding what we are doing or not so subtly looking the other way, and if we do not adhere to these standards then there is the Court of Justice of the European Union, an independent justice service that can fine us substantial amounts for failing to comply.  One example of this happened at the beginning of this year when the UK failed to comply with EU air quality laws.  To ensure we stay on track when it comes to climate change and environmental protection we have to ensure that a new, independent watchdog is put in place which is able to work over all four UK countries and has the power and resources to be able to scrutinise and enforce the policies put in place.

One article I found particularly interesting in my research into Brexit and the environment was put together by Friends of the Earth on 'UK Environmental Policy Post-Brexit: A Risk Analysis'.  This report looks at the possible risk to the environment of five possible Brexit scenarios as well as the implications on Environmental Protection.  Whilst this covered most of the areas I'd already been looking at the one things it reminded me of, and which I had forgotten about, is that the UK has a devolved Government.  This is especially true when it comes to policies on energy, agriculture, and fisheries and this could be a sticking point when it comes to the UK Government putting together environmental policies after we have left the EU.  'In fighting' between the separate Governments could mean that areas remain unprotected for extended periods of time whilst the policies are put intp place and there is even more of a distraction from reaching our climate goals then already exists with the work on Brexit.  Not really something we can afford to do.

So these are my worries about us leaving the EU and what I've noticed so far in the proceedings when it comes to the environment and climate change.  Please let me know if you think I've missed anything when it comes to these issues and if there are any articles you think I should read - I'm always up for learning more.  From what I can see it'll be a waiting game until Brexit actually happens......and then we might have a fight on our hands to help protect our most valuable resource.