Environmental Law & Governance Post-Brexit

The report analyzes the legal and governance void created by Brexit, specifically the loss of the European Commission's enforcement role and the CJEU's jurisdiction. It examines the proposed Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) under the Environment Bill, the shift to 'retained EU law', and the risks associated with increased secondary legislation and resource shortages in agencies like the Environment Agency and Natural England. Case studies on air quality and pesticides illustrate the potential for regressive environmental standards and the loss of independent scientific oversight.

• The UK has lost the 'systematic enforcement role' of the European Commission and the judicial powers of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which previously monitored compliance and imposed financial penalties for environmental breaches.
• The proposed Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) is criticized for lacking sufficient independence from the government, particularly due to a power allowing the Secretary of State to provide 'guidance' on enforcement policy that the OEP 'must have regard' to.
• The transition to 'retained EU law' means that EU environmental laws no longer take precedence over future domestic laws and can be repealed or modified by Ministers through broad powers under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
• The Environment Bill is criticized for lacking a binding 'non-regression' clause to prevent the lowering of environmental standards and for setting long-term targets that may not be legally binding until 2037.
• The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) includes a non-regression principle, but critics argue it is weak because it only applies to reductions that 'affect trade or investment', a threshold that is difficult to prove.
• There are significant resource and skills shortages in key environmental bodies; the Environment Agency has seen funding cuts of over 50% to its enforcement budget, and Natural England is reported to lack sufficient skilled staff.
• Post-Brexit pesticide regulations have shifted power toward Ministerial discretion, removing requirements for independent scientific advice from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and extending review periods for maximum residue levels from 12 to 36 months.
• The UK government's decision in January 2021 to allow the emergency use of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam on sugar beet seeds is cited as an example of an 'environmentally regressive' move that contradicts previous commitments to maintain EU-level bans.
• The increased use of secondary legislation (Statutory Instruments) to implement Brexit has led to concerns over poor drafting quality, insufficient parliamentary scrutiny, and the use of 'Henry VIII powers' to amend primary legislation.
• The Independent Review of Administrative Law (IRAL) is viewed by some environmental groups as a potential threat to access to justice, as judicial review is now the 'remedy of last resort' following the loss of EU infraction processes.

APA

Jones, R. (2021). Environmental Law & Governance Post-Brexit. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/1z5lucs3/report-environmental-law-and-governance-post-brexit-11-february-2020-003.pdf

Chicago

Jones, Rachel. Environmental Law & Governance Post-Brexit. ClientEarth, 2021. https://www.clientearth.org/media/1z5lucs3/report-environmental-law-and-governance-post-brexit-11-february-2020-003.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jones |first1=Rachel |title=Environmental Law & Governance Post-Brexit |publisher=ClientEarth |date=11 February 2021 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/1z5lucs3/report-environmental-law-and-governance-post-brexit-11-february-2020-003.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jones2021environmental, author = {Jones, Rachel}, title = {{Environmental Law \& Governance Post-Brexit}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/1z5lucs3/report-environmental-law-and-governance-post-brexit-11-february-2020-003.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }