William Wilson, Barrister, Wyeside Consulting Ltd spoke at the Policy Forum for Wales Keynote Seminar on Energy Policy in Wales in Cardiff on 12 December 2019.

William Wilson spoke on ‘Collaboration and Governance Post Brexit’. The address covered principles of public consent for successful environmental laws, and the existing framework of EU environmental law. It considered the legislative response to Brexit to date at both the UK and Welsh levels, the critical importance of environmental standards in the transition from EU to UK laws, and why and how this matters for Wales.

William Wilson noted the key findings of both the House of Commons EFRA and EAC Committees and the NAW CCERA Committee, and the close similarity of their conclusions. He noted the new emphasis by the Johnson government of “divergence from EU standards”. He contrasted ‘devolution by design’ with ‘divergence by default’ within the UK. He noted the future critical importance of trade agreements on environmental standards.

William Wilson concluded by arguing that environmental standards, governance and enforcement would benefit from a coordinated approach within the UK, and suffer from the lack of it, and with the critical challenges of climate change and COP 26, effective new ways of working together were essential.

For further information, please contact William Wilson at info@wyesideconsulting.com