Prime Minister Theresa May has announced a new Bill aimed at protecting the environment. It will essentially set out the legal framework for the Government's 25 year environmental plan.
There has been great concern amongst several environmental professionals and groups that leaving the EU will leave the environment in a much weaker position than it would have been had the UK voted to remain. However, the Government is making steps to enhance environmental protection post-Brexit, and this latest announcement has received praise from some environmental groups which feared that the Government's environmental promises had no legal backing.
Speaking about the Bill, Environment Secretary Michael Gove said that it would "help to ensure Britain can be cleaner and greener".
However, not everyone has received the news with enthusiasm. Craig Bennett from Friends of the Earth said, "This could be an Act that really moves forward protection of nature. But we don’t know what the Bill will include, what will be its foundations and when it will be delivered."
"The whole thing could be thrown into disarray if we get a no-deal Brexit, which will leave us out of the EU without having had the time to get new laws in place to replace EU laws. We simply won’t have the time to replace all EU legislation on vital issues like product standards (which impose energy-saving and pollution-saving targets) and chemicals legislation."
When published, it will be the first Environmental Bill in over 20 years.
