Brexit – will the EU be greener without its ‘Dirty Man of Europe’?
Our partners 16th August 2016
There’s no doubt that full membership of the EU has had profound largely positive impacts on both environmental law and the environment in the UK over the last 40 years – notably in improvements in waste recycling (e.g. Circular Economy Package – for a more sustainable use of materials and products), cleaner beaches, cleaner air, less polluted inland water courses (improving UK’s ‘Dirty Man of Europe’ image), control of chemicals (e.g. REACH – regulations relating to the production and use of chemicals) and in the protection of biodiversity.
But we shouldn’t overlook that UK environmental professionals have also made substantial contributions to the development of EU environmental policy. In fact we have been leading champions, for example, in highlighting and recommending strategies to combat climate change and protecting biodiversity, as well as providing much of the academic input underpinning recent changes in European directivesprotecting our health from arsenic in rice sold in our supermarkets.