Author: Nigel Haigh

This paper identifies and discusses the groups in the UK with an interest in staying aligned to, or diverging from, EU environmental law and the motives that might be behind this.

This paper identifies and discusses the groups in the UK with an interest in staying aligned to, or diverging from, EU environmental law. It analyses the potential motives for this and why they may differ. It also discusses how divergence for reasons of trade and environmental protection are intertwined but have to be thought about separately. Finally, it considers the different levels at which environmental policy is made and how the UK’s freedom to ‘take back control of its laws’ is circumscribed both by international commitments and by the views and powers of the devolved administrations.

Photo by Rocco DiPoppa on Unsplash

Additional readings:

• Divergence in environmental policy post Brexit: Some initial reflections 
• UK/EU divergence in environmental regulation: The case of the EU Industrial Emissions Directive
• IEEP UK | A comparison of biodiversity targets emerging in the EU and UK post Brexit