Brexit and the environment

Professor Colin Reid

Colin Reid studied at Oxford and Cambridge and taught at Aberdeen University before moving to Dundee where he became Professor of Environmental Law in 1995.  He has written widely on a range of environmental law topics, especially biodiversity where recent work has studied new approaches to conservation law, including biodiversity offsets and payment for ecosystem services.  His background in public law has come into play in studies of devolution and environmental governance.  He was the founding convener of the Environmental Law Section of the Society of Legal Scholars and was a founder member of the UK Environmental Law Association.  In advance of the referendum on Scottish independence he organised a conference examining the consequences of possible independence on environmental law in Scotland.

 

Abstract

Within the next couple of years the UK faces a referendum on whether to remain a member of the European Union.  The environment is one area where membership of the EU has had a major influence on law and policy within the UK.  The consequences of “Brexit” in this area need to be explored, in relation to both environmental protection and the impact of environmental standards on access to markets.  Aspects of this will be considered in this seminar, drawing on work done with colleagues at Dundee Law School.

At one level there are technical issues about the status of legal provisions based on EU law.  For some matters the requirements of EU policy are implemented through domestic legislation, but for others the substantive provisions are to be found in EU legislation alone.  If such measures are going to cease to have legal force, either they must be replaced or there will be a legal vacuum on a number of significant topics.  At another level there is the question of what policies and rules the UK would want to adopt after leaving the EU and how free the UK would really be to decides its own environmental laws.  Several of the possible future relationships between the UK and the EU, e.g. membership of EFTA and the European Economic Area, bring with them obligations to comply with EU standards and even in the event of a total severance of links with the EU, such compliance may be necessary to secure access to EU markets.  Other international obligations accepted by the UK also limit the ability to develop radically different environmental laws.

More related to this seminar

Brexit and the environment

Professor Colin Reid

Colin Reid studied at Oxford and Cambridge and taught at Aberdeen University before moving to Dundee where he became Professor of Environmental Law in 1995.  He has written widely on a range of environmental law topics, especially biodiversity where recent work has studied new approaches to conservation law, including biodiversity offsets and payment for ecosystem services.  His background in public law has come into play in studies of devolution and environmental governance.  He was the founding convener of the Environmental Law Section of the Society of Legal Scholars and was a founder member of the UK Environmental Law Association.  In advance of the referendum on Scottish independence he organised a conference examining the consequences of possible independence on environmental law in Scotland.

Abstract

Within the next couple of years the UK faces a referendum on whether to remain a member of the European Union.  The environment is one area where membership of the EU has had a major influence on law and policy within the UK.  The consequences of “Brexit” in this area need to be explored, in relation to both environmental protection and the impact of environmental standards on access to markets.  Aspects of this will be considered in this seminar, drawing on work done with colleagues at Dundee Law School.

At one level there are technical issues about the status of legal provisions based on EU law.  For some matters the requirements of EU policy are implemented through domestic legislation, but for others the substantive provisions are to be found in EU legislation alone.  If such measures are going to cease to have legal force, either they must be replaced or there will be a legal vacuum on a number of significant topics.  At another level there is the question of what policies and rules the UK would want to adopt after leaving the EU and how free the UK would really be to decides its own environmental laws.  Several of the possible future relationships between the UK and the EU, e.g. membership of EFTA and the European Economic Area, bring with them obligations to comply with EU standards and even in the event of a total severance of links with the EU, such compliance may be necessary to secure access to EU markets.  Other international obligations accepted by the UK also limit the ability to develop radically different environmental laws.

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