Wales
The Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee of the National Assembly for Wales held a Stakeholder Workshop in Cardiff on 16 May 2018 to consider views on Environmental Principles and Environmental Governance, and to report back to the Assembly.
The Committee’s considerations covered the Environmental Principles which should inform the application of environmental laws after EU Exit; and Environmental Governance, or how
environmental laws should be enforced and government should be held to account for the application of environmental law once the European Commission and Court of Justice of the European Union will no longer participate in enforcement of EU environmental law.
All aspects of enforcement of EU-based environmental laws will be fundamentally affected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and with the full devolution of responsibility for environmental laws to the Welsh Government since 1998, these questions are of central importance to the application of these laws in Wales.
William Wilson, Barrister – Director of Wyeside Consulting Ltd attended the Stakeholder Workshop, and submitted written evidence to the Committee. This covered the following questions –
Enforcement and Brexit: EU law and UK government commitments
Is there a will to enforce the law?
Criminal law vs civil and administrative enforcement
Parliamentary supervision of Environmental Governance, and possible alternatives to the European Commission
Challenging regulators’ decisions
Environmental Principles
Environmental Justice
England
Defra finally published on 10 May 2018 its proposals for an Environmental Principles and Governance Bill. This consultation is in three parts –
Part 1 Environmental Principles
Part 2 Accountability for the environment
Part 3 Overall Environmental Governance
William Wilson and Wyeside Consulting Ltd will be submitting written evidence to this consultation as well. The Defra consultation documents can be referred to at –
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/eu/environmental-principles-and-governance