Earlier in December, the Government published its 2025 Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), which included new commitments on chemicals which suggest that the UK will move towards greater alignment with EU chemicals policy over the next few years. Specifically, it contains a commitment to reform UK REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) by December 2028 “in a way that is more aligned with our closest trading partners, especially the EU”.  

This is a welcome development as the UK’s departure from the EU has seen the European Chemicals Agency adopt 13 new restrictions on hazardous substances and added 42 substances of very high concern to its candidate list. By contrast, the UK’s Health and Safety Executive, which administers UK REACH, has only added one – a restriction on lead in ammunition.  IEEP UK has recommended closer alignment and cooperation with EU chemicals regulation, stemming from our analysis into the state of divergence between UK and EU environmental policy.

The 2025 EIP also has a keen focus on addressing PFAS pollution too – another welcome development, particularly given that PFAS were mentioned only in passing in the previous EIP, published in 2023. A new commitment for Defra to publish a PFAS plan in 2026, aiming for a “coordinated response […] across government and industry” to the issue of widespread PFAS pollution, through a variety of regulatory and non-regulatory interventions and initiatives.  

Additionally, the document contains a commitment to making a decision on a potential restriction on PFAS in firefighting foams under UK REACH in 2027. This comes in the wake of the ongoing HSE consultation on the issue, which runs until February 2026. The EU has already put in place a staggered ban on PFAS in firefighting foams under EU REACH, with all firefighting foams containing more than 1 mg/L of PFAS to be banned from sale or use from October 2030, and has proposed a wider, blanket PFAS restriction, which is currently being considered by ECHA. 

A commitment to delivering the domestic pesticides reduction target that was set in the 2025 UK Pesticides National Action Plan, the focus of an earlier IEEP UK article, is also welcome. There is also a further commitment to end the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, which are well-known for their negative impacts on bees and other pollinators. This would bring to an end the use of emergency authorisations for these products.  

IEEP UK is conducting a detailed analysis of the new EIP commitments and comparing them with similar targets set in the EU. This will be released in the new year.  

Photo by Eduardo Cano Photo Co. on Unsplash