By Grace Torrance, reporter.
Image from Getty Images
Promises of a ‘Green Brexit’ have not been met, says Greener UK.
Michael Grove’s claims of delivering a ‘Green Brexit’ have been challenged by several UK environmental organisations, Mr Grove was the UK’s environment secretary from 2017-2019.
In 2017, Mr Grove said; “Leaving the EU gives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reform agriculture and fisheries, “It would allow the UK to reshape the way it cares for its land, its rivers and its seas.”
One major organisation questioning the progress of Mr Grove’s Green Brexit promises are Greener UK, a coalition made up of 12 environmental groups (Green peace, RSPB, etc) with a combined membership of over 8 million people. Greener UK’s tracking of the policies over the last few years shows that protection of the water quality, climate, fisheries and farming in the UK has not made any significant progress since 2016, and ministers have weakened the protections of the UK’s environment.
The aftermath of leaving the EU has resulted in key movements towards improving issues of restoration, nature, pollution and waste have been rescheduled to 2037 which will have devasting effects. Also, the governing body of the new environmental watchdog will have much less authority and power than pre-Brexit. Greener UK also has declared it’s an outrage that certain departments of government, like defence and treasury, will be excluded in the environmental principles set up that stops the government from acting in a way that can seriously harm the UK’s environment.
Greener UK’s analysis has been processed into a traffic light system, where green represents improvement and red a weakening. key policy areas were all ranked according to this system. Across eight areas that were analysed four – water, land use, fisheries and climate – were ranked amber, and four – air quality, chemicals, nature, waste and resources – were ranked as red. None were ranked as green.
Sarah Williams, head of the Greener UK coalition, said the government’s Green Brexit plans was not being matched by action. “We looked across policy areas and concluded that in no areas was the government doing better [than EU regulations] and in many, it was weaker,” she said. “There are big question marks in many areas, such as enforcement.”
The environment bill has now been delayed several times, owing first to parliamentary wrangling over Brexit and then to the Covid-19 pandemic, but should come before parliament again in May. The bill represents the biggest shake-up of environmental regulation in the UK in decades.