UK Government update on Environmental legislation post Brexit

The UK government has set out a series of technical notices outlining preparations for a ‘no deal’ Brexit.  They report that it does not want or expect a no deal scenario and is committed to achieving a deal with the EU. However it continues to prepare for all scenarios, including the unlikely event of no deal. These technical notices are designed to provide businesses and individuals with more information on the considerations they should undertake in the case of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

The Defra technical notices issued on 13th September 2018 cover amongst other things these areas that may be of interest to the refrigeration industry:

• Upholding environmental standards
• Upholding the industrial emissions Best Available Technique Regime (BAT)
• Regulating F-gases and ODS

Issued by the DEFRA Environment team (envregseuexit@defra.gov.uk)

Related item:

In a consultation issued earlier this year a Environmental Principles and Governance Bill is being proposed to ensure environmental protections will not be weakened as we leave the EU. The Bill would establish a body to hold government to account for environmental outcomes.  It would support the government's commitment to "be the first generation to leave our environment in a better state than that in which we inherited it". It 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.

More details at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-environment-law-to-deliver-a-green-brexit