By Manisha Kumar, Third Year LLB Student
This post considers the relationship between Brexit and climate change, as Brexit has come at a pivotal time where urgent action to combat climate change needed. To understand the extent of this impact, it is necessary to delve into the UK’s contributions in combating climate change before and after Brexit.
Minimal Impact…
The immediate impact of Brexit is expected to be minimal[1] as the UK will retain EU law,[2] such as the commitment to achieve 32% renewables by 2030 as set out in the recast Renewable Energy Directive.[3] It can be argued if the UK chooses to repeal such EU laws, the impact on climate change will be severely negative however, this may currently appear unlikely. First, the UK has been described as a leading nation on climate change.[4] The UK has not only supported the EU’s climate change policy but has even pushed for stricter targets. For example, the UK supported increasing the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from 20% to 40% in the recast Direction 2003/87/EC[5] for 2030 and a conditional 50% reduction in GHG by 2030 in preparation for the 2015 Paris Conference. Secondly, the UK has taken the initiative to introduce climate change laws with very ambitious targets. Through the Climate Change Act 2008, the UK set targets such as a 57% and 80% reduction in GHG emissions in comparison to pre-industrial levels by 2030 and 2050, respectively.[6] Overall, the heavy action taken by the UK pre-Brexit in the attempt to reduce GHG emission indicates they are a strong player on the climate change stage. This will likely continue post-Brexit, thus highlighting Brexit may not have such a harsh negative impact on climate change.
Or is it…?
Conversely, the prospect of Brexit poses significant challenges for UK environmental law[7] and is a precarious threat on combating climate change. Due to Brexit, the UK will lose a fundamental mechanism, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), to hold them accountable for their failure to meet environmental obligations because it is not mandatory for the UK to comply with subsequent CJEU rulings.[8] Greener UK argues there may be a ‘lack of willpower to ensure high standards across the UK’.[9] Unfortunately, this statement is already reigning true. The UK has contradicted a variety of pledges to combat climate change. For example, the UK pledged to phase out coal-fired power stations by 2025 to reduce GHG emissions.[10] However, the effects of this pledge have been significantly undermined by the UK’s plans to create a coal mine in Cumbria,[11]which would be the UK’s first deep coal mine in 30 years.[12] Lord Deben, the Committee on Climate Change Chair, stated this coal mine gives a negative impression of the UK’s climate priorities[13] which is a valid statement as the creation of the coal mine garnered criticism from Greta Thunberg who passionately tweeted the targets set by the UK are ‘vague’ and ‘insufficient’.[14] Therefore, Brexit will likely exacerbate the UK’s position not to uphold high environmental standards, creating concerns for ENGO’s and environmental activists.
Overall
As the CJEU cannot keep the UK accountable for undermining climate change law, the UK could be more lenient when upholding environmental laws, thus weakening the global position to reduce climate change. On the other hand, the UK is considered a world leader on climate change and intends to maintain this status by adopting ambitious targets. As the impact of Brexit on climate change is not clear-cut, there is a state of worry regarding the future of climate change.
[1] Claire Dupont and Brendan Moor, ‘Brexit and the EU in Global Climate Governance’ (2019) 7(3) Cogitatio 51, 56.
[2] European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, s.3.
[3] Directive 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast) (2018) OJ L328/82, art 3(1).
[4] Cameron Hepburn and Alex Teytelboym, ‘Climate change policy after Brexit’ (2017) 33 Oxford Review of Economic Policy 144, 145.
[5] Paragraph 2.1 European Commission, ‘A Policy Framework for Climate and Energy in the Period from 2020 to 2030’ (2014 COM(2014) 15 final.
[6] Alexandra-Maria Bocse, ‘The UK’s Decision to Leave the European Union (Brexit) and its Impact on the EU as a Climate Change Actor’ (2020) 20(2) Climate Policy 265, 267.
[7] Eloise Scotford and Megan Bowman, ‘Brexit and Environmental Law: Challenges and Opportunities’ (2016) 27(3) King’s Law Journal 416, 416.
[8] European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, s 6.
[9] James Trapper, ‘Britain Risks Losing Green Protections After Brexit’ The Guardian (2018) <www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/21/green-coalition-alarm-environment-protection-brexit> accessed 31 March 2021
[10] Cameron Hepburn, Alex Teytelboym, ‘Climate change policy after Brexit’ (2017), Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 145.
[11] Fiona Harvey, ‘Top climate scientist warns PM over ‘contemptuous’ Cumbria coalmine plan’ The Guardian (4 February 2021) < www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/04/top-climate-scientist-warns-pm-over-contemptuous-cumbria-coalmine-plan> accessed 1 April 2021
[12] Simon Goodley, ‘First new deep coalmine in UK for 30 years gets go ahead’ The Guardian (2 October 2020) <https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/02/first-new-deep-coalmine-in-uk-for-30-years-gets-green-light> accessed 14 October 2021.
[13] PA Media, ‘Planned coalmine would create “more emissions than any other in UK”’ The Guardian (30 January 2021) <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/30/coal-mine-decision-gives-negative-impression-of-uks-climate-priorities> accessed 31 March 2021.
[14] Catherine Kennedy, ‘Greta Thunberg criticises Cumbria coal mine decision’ New Civil Engineer (11 January 2021) < https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/greta-thunberg-criticises-cumbria-coal-mine-decision-11-01-2021/?> accessed 14 October 2021.
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