As initially reported by ENDS Report, UK Ministers have been accused of rejecting Defra officials’ advice when revoking regulations 9 and 10 of the National Emissions Ceiling Regulations (NECR), scheduled to drop off the statute book on 31 December 2023 under the REUL Act.

The regulations in question set legally binding emission reduction commitments for 2020 and 2030 for five key air pollutants. Regulation 9 obliges the Secretary of State to prepare a national air pollution control programme (NAPCP) to limit pollutants in line with national emission reduction commitments. Regulation 10 lays out duties to consult the public before preparing or significantly revising the NAPCP.

When the decision was made to include the NECR in the Retained EU Law (REUL) Act, the UK’s post-Brexit environmental watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection, warned that the move could lead to reduced accountability and transparency as well as “the potential to weaken environmental protection.” However, the government repeatedly defended the move, stating its intention always was to “reduce administrative burden.”

Instead, reports show that civil servants had in fact voiced concerns with the government that the decision would make tracking and setting out progress on key air quality targets harder. This revelation means that the government may have been aware that acting against expert advice could have led to a regression in environmental law.

It is reported that Defra also advised ministers to carry out a public consultation before enacting any reforms, posing the option to either revoke the NAPCP with no replacement and following the Environment Improvement Plan (EIP) as an alternative; or revoke the NAPCP and introduce new policy measures in the case a failure, or potential failure, to achieve a target takes place. However, the then Secretary of State, Thérèse Coffey, chose to reject a consultation and proceed with the first option proposed. 

MPs and environmental groups are now calling for the government to explain their decision, to remove the regulations from chopping block at the end of the year and have lamented the lack of consultation from the then Secretary of State. Helen Venn, the OEP’s chief regulatory officer, remarked the move “has the potential to weaken environmental protection” adding that it was “extremely disappointing” the Ms Coffey “chose not to engage constructively” with stakeholders. 

For more news on environmental divergence, sign up to our newsletter, and explore our Divergence hub pages.

Photo by Mario La Pergola on Unsplash.