Saturday, January 20, 2024
More Brexit broken promises
I am happy to admit that when Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and the other architects of Brexit promising that environmental protections would be strengthened after the vote to leave the EU, I didn't believe them, but what could I do about it other than wait to see if they delivered on their promises? It is with regret that I record that my scepticism was justified.
The Guardian contains a major feature in which its environment reporter, Helena Horton details the scale of the changes in the law which mean that environmental legislation in Britain is facing death by a thousand cuts.
She says that in practice, changes by the EU that the UK is not following and planned divergences from EU law will mean toxic chemicals banned in the EU will be allowed to be used in the UK, the UK will reduce greenhouse gas emissions more slowly, its waters will be dirtier, and consumer products will be more likely to contribute to global deforestation.
The news article that accompanies it says vital legal protections for the environment and human health are being destroyed in post-Brexit departures from European legislation:
The UK is falling behind the EU on almost every area of environmental regulation, as the bloc strengthens its legislation while the UK weakens it. In some cases, ministers are removing EU-derived environmental protections from the statute book entirely.
Businesses and environmental groups have told the Guardian they have been left in the dark as to the extent of the regressions because there is no government body tracking the divergence between the EU and the UK.
In practice, it means:
* Water in the UK will be dirtier than in the EU.
* There will be more pesticides in Britain’s soil.
* Companies will be allowed to produce products containing chemicals that the EU has restricted for being dangerous.
At least seven big policies have been changed that have put a chasm between the EU and the UK on environmental regulation. These include:
* EU-derived air pollution laws that will be removed under the retained EU law bill.
* Dozens of chemicals banned in the EU are still available for use in the UK.
* Thirty-six pesticides banned in the EU have not been outlawed in the UK.
* The UK is falling behind on reducing carbon emissions as the EU implements carbon pricing.
* The EU is compensating those who are struggling to afford the costs of the green transition, while the UK is not.
* The EU is implementing stricter regulations on battery recycling, while the UK is not.
* Deforestation is being removed from the EU supply chain, while the UK’s proposed scheme is more lax and does not come in until a year later.
As the paper points out about 85% of the UK’s environmental protections are EU derived. They add that there are 10 further policy areas that are in the process of being tightened in the EU while staying the same or being loosened in the UK. These concern sewage pollution in rivers and seas, protection for habitats of endangered animals, food waste, electronic waste, fast fashion, “forever chemicals”, ozone-depleting substances, extracting rare minerals, regulating dangerous particulate pollution, and reducing emissions from intensive farming.
So it seems that not only are we losing all respect for our flouting of international law on asylum seekers, but we are also on track to become one of the dirtiest countries in Europe.
The Guardian contains a major feature in which its environment reporter, Helena Horton details the scale of the changes in the law which mean that environmental legislation in Britain is facing death by a thousand cuts.
She says that in practice, changes by the EU that the UK is not following and planned divergences from EU law will mean toxic chemicals banned in the EU will be allowed to be used in the UK, the UK will reduce greenhouse gas emissions more slowly, its waters will be dirtier, and consumer products will be more likely to contribute to global deforestation.
The news article that accompanies it says vital legal protections for the environment and human health are being destroyed in post-Brexit departures from European legislation:
The UK is falling behind the EU on almost every area of environmental regulation, as the bloc strengthens its legislation while the UK weakens it. In some cases, ministers are removing EU-derived environmental protections from the statute book entirely.
Businesses and environmental groups have told the Guardian they have been left in the dark as to the extent of the regressions because there is no government body tracking the divergence between the EU and the UK.
In practice, it means:
* Water in the UK will be dirtier than in the EU.
* There will be more pesticides in Britain’s soil.
* Companies will be allowed to produce products containing chemicals that the EU has restricted for being dangerous.
At least seven big policies have been changed that have put a chasm between the EU and the UK on environmental regulation. These include:
* EU-derived air pollution laws that will be removed under the retained EU law bill.
* Dozens of chemicals banned in the EU are still available for use in the UK.
* Thirty-six pesticides banned in the EU have not been outlawed in the UK.
* The UK is falling behind on reducing carbon emissions as the EU implements carbon pricing.
* The EU is compensating those who are struggling to afford the costs of the green transition, while the UK is not.
* The EU is implementing stricter regulations on battery recycling, while the UK is not.
* Deforestation is being removed from the EU supply chain, while the UK’s proposed scheme is more lax and does not come in until a year later.
As the paper points out about 85% of the UK’s environmental protections are EU derived. They add that there are 10 further policy areas that are in the process of being tightened in the EU while staying the same or being loosened in the UK. These concern sewage pollution in rivers and seas, protection for habitats of endangered animals, food waste, electronic waste, fast fashion, “forever chemicals”, ozone-depleting substances, extracting rare minerals, regulating dangerous particulate pollution, and reducing emissions from intensive farming.
So it seems that not only are we losing all respect for our flouting of international law on asylum seekers, but we are also on track to become one of the dirtiest countries in Europe.
