Authors: Michael Nicholson, David Baldock

The way in which environmental legislation is developed, agreed and then implemented in the UK has changed fundamentally since Brexit. This event identified and assessed the implications of emerging differences between UK and EU environmental law and policy, as well as that which occurs between the four nations of the UK. 

IEEP UK hosted a webinar to assess current perspectives of environmental policy between the EU and UK, and analyse the main areas of divergence between them, as well as amongst the UK’s four nations. 

The UK’s exit from the European Union and the accompanying governance changes have brought about a need to track the development of environmental law and policy in the four nations of the UK and between the UK and EU, to identify divergence and assess its implications and significance. Extensive autonomy for the four nations, not least in the environmental field is leading to greater diversity and less predictability, with varying levels of alignment or divergence in a more complex set of measures and relationships. Some nations of the UK may choose not to keep up with developments in legislation previously derived from the EU and some divergence may occur simply through ‘regulatory drift’, with decisions not being taken.

The main findings of IEEP UK’s report: “Divergence in environmental policy post-Brexit: some initial reflections” were presented. For more information, check our Twitter thread.

You can watch the panel discussion below with:

Jill Rutter – Senior Research Fellow, UK in a Changing Europe

Dr Jane Clarke – Senior Policy Officer, RSPB Northern Ireland

Peter Foster – Public Policy Editor, Financial Times

Colin Reid – Professor of Environmental Law, University of Dundee