Upholding environmental standards from 1 January 2021
How the UK will uphold environmental standards from 1 January 2021. These include standards in waste, air quality, water, and protection of habitats and species.
New rules for January 2021
The UK has left the EU, and the transition period after Brexit comes to an end this year.
This page tells you what you’ll need to do from 1 January 2021. It will be updated if anything changes.
For current information, read: Check if you need an environmental permit
You can also read about the transition period.
Some environmental legislation will stay the same and some will be adapted so that environmental standards will be maintained from 1 January 2021.
What will stay the same
The UK government is committed to maintaining environmental standards and international obligations from 1 January 2021. The UK will continue its aim set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan to be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than it inherited it.
Existing EU environmental laws will continue to operate in UK law. The following will also continue:
- the UK’s legal framework for enforcing domestic environmental legislation by UK regulatory bodies or court systems
- environmental targets currently covered by EU legislation – they are already covered in UK legislation
- permits and licences issued by UK regulatory bodies
What will be changed or introduced
From 1 January 2021, current legislation will be changed to:
- remove references to EU legislation
- transfer powers from EU institutions to UK institutions
- make sure the UK meets international agreement obligations
On 18 July 2018, the government announced it will bring forward the first Environment Bill in more than 20 years. The Bill will apply to England and reserved environmental matters for which the UK government has responsibility.
From 1 January 2021, the UK government will establish a new, independent statutory body – The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP). The OEP will oversee compliance with environmental law and will be able to bring legal proceedings against government and public authorities if necessary. The OEP will also scrutinise and advise government. Environmental principles will guide future government policy.
The UK government will introduce interim measures before the OEP is set up. These interim arrangements will continue until the OEP becomes fully operational.
Read more about plans for an independent statutory body and Environment Bill.
New environment law to deliver a Green Brexit
Environmental Principles and Governance Bill announced as consultation launches on new body to hold government to account.
A new Environmental Principles and Governance Bill will ensure environmental protections will not be weakened as we leave the EU, the government has confirmed.
A consultation has started today on the contents of the Environmental Principles and Governance Bill, which will establish a world-leading body to hold government to account for environmental outcomes.
The body will support our commitment to be the first generation to leave our environment in a better state than that in which we inherited it. It will provide scrutiny and advice as we protect and enhance our precious landscapes, wildlife and natural assets and would be able to hold government to account on environmental legislation.
Subject to consultation, the new body could specifically be responsible for:
- providing independent scrutiny and advice on existing and future government environmental law and policy;
- responding to complaints about government’s delivery of environmental law; and
- holding government to account publicly over its delivery of environmental law and exercising enforcement powers where necessary.
The Government is also consulting on its intention to require ministers to produce – and then have regard to –a statutory and comprehensive policy statement setting out how they will apply core environmental principles as they develop policy and discharge their responsibilities. Currently environmental decisions made in the UK – from improving air and water quality to protecting endangered species – are overseen by the European Commission and underpinned by a number of these principles, such as the precautionary principle, sustainable development and the ‘polluter pays’ principle.
While these principles are already central to government environmental policy, they are not set out in one place besides the EU treaties. The new Environmental Principles and Governance Bill will ensure governments continue to have regard to important environmental principles through the policy statement, which would be scrutinised by Parliament. The consultation seeks views on whether or not the principles to be contained in the policy statement should be listed in primary legislation.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:
As the Prime Minister has made clear, we will not weaken environmental protections when we leave the EU. A new Environmental Principles and Governance Bill will ensure core environmental principles remain central to government policy and decision-making. This will help us to deliver a Green Brexit and the vision set out in our 25 Year Environment Plan.
But we will only achieve our aims by also creating a strong and objective voice that champions and enforces environmental standards. That’s why our Environmental Principles and Governance Bill will also create an independent and statutory watchdog. This will hold governments to account for delivering their commitments to the natural world.
The consultation, which will run for 12 weeks, seeks views on the most effective way for the new body to hold government to account, which would include, as a minimum, the power to issue advisory notices. The consultation asks what further enforcement mechanisms may be necessary.
The Environmental Principles and Governance Bill will be published in draft in the autumn. Public consultation on the environmental principles policy statement will follow in due course. The Bill will be introduced early in the second session of this Parliament, ensuring these measures are introduced in time for the end of the implementation period in December 2020. EU environmental governance structures will continue to apply during the implementation period.
The consultation is concerned with environmental governance in England and reserved matters throughout the UK, for which the UK government has responsibility. However, we are exploring with the devolved administrations whether they wish to take a similar approach. We would welcome the opportunity to co-design proposals with them to ensure they work across the whole UK, taking account of the different government and legal systems in the individual nations.
Background
- You can respond to our consultation on the Citizen Space website
- Read ‘A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment’