Recent government announcements risk a perfect storm for environmental degradation

ClientEarth warns that the UK Government's move toward rapid deregulation, particularly via the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, risks a 'perfect storm' of environmental degradation and reduced business investment. The organization argues that the Bill could lead to the overnight disappearance of critical legislative frameworks protecting air, water, and biodiversity by December 31, 2023, while bypassing parliamentary scrutiny through secondary legislation. This shift is viewed as a contradiction of the Government's own manifesto commitments and legal obligations under the Climate Change Act 2008.

• The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill could result in the revocation of all retained EU law by 31 December 2023, unless the Government decides to keep specific provisions, potentially removing decades of environmental and public health protections without equivalent replacements.
• The Bill allows Ministers to use secondary legislation to amend, revoke, or replace laws before the sunset date, which ClientEarth argues undermines the democratic process by limiting parliamentary scrutiny and enabling 'government by decree'.
• The Government's deregulatory approach may jeopardize its ability to meet established targets and policies, including the 25-year plan to improve the environment, the '30x30' biodiversity pledge, and the Climate Change Act 2008.
• The High Court ruled in July 2022 that the UK Government's net zero strategy was in breach of the Climate Change Act and required strengthening to demonstrate how targets would be achieved.

APA

ClientEarth (2022). Recent government announcements risk a perfect storm for environmental degradation. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/recent-government-announcements-risk-a-perfect-storm-for-environmental-degradation/

Chicago

ClientEarth. Recent government announcements risk a perfect storm for environmental degradation. 2022. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/recent-government-announcements-risk-a-perfect-storm-for-environmental-degradation/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Recent government announcements risk a perfect storm for environmental degradation |date=4 October 2022 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/recent-government-announcements-risk-a-perfect-storm-for-environmental-degradation/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2022recent, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Recent government announcements risk a perfect storm for environmental degradation}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/recent-government-announcements-risk-a-perfect-storm-for-environmental-degradation/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }