Brexit and the Environment

Brexit and the Environment briefing

In June 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union in a referendum by 51.9% to 48.1%.

In this uncertain time of transition, CIWEM is working to make sure the needs of all of our members and the water and environmental industry as a whole are met. We are regularly meeting with officials in government and working with organisations in Europe to ensure the best outcomes for the environment.

Membership of the EU has driven much of Britain’s environmental policy development over recent decades. Given the profound instability of British politics as a result of the referendum, implications for the environment are likely to remain particularly unclear for months, if not years.

We will be regularly updating the briefing to keep Members up to date with the latest developments and implications for the environment.

The draft of the full Environment Bill is expected to be laid before Parliament in October, early in the next session of Parliament, and will include the framework and process for establishing long-term environmental targets in law.

CIWEM submitted evidence to the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Environmental Audit Committees on their pre-legislative scrutiny of the Draft Environment (Principles and Governance) Bill 2018, for post-Brexit environmental governance.

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Given the large volume of European Union environmental legislation and the positive influence this has had on the UK’s environment, we welcome the steps being taken to transfer the body of European legislation into UK law. It is important, however, that this is undertaken in a robust and transparent manner. We are concerned that the following issues are not adequately addressed by the current Bill and call on ministers to provide assurance that the UK’s citizens and environment will be appropriately protected as we exit the EU.

As the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill passes through Parliament, a number of environmental professional bodies have collectively put together a briefing setting out their key positions and concerns. The briefing has been produced by CIWEM, the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES), the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), the chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), the Society for the Environment and the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA). Download the EU Withdrawal Bill Briefing.

Follow the passage of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill here.

The Department for Exiting the European Union has also produced a range of factsheets to accompany the Bill including one on environmental protections.