Environmental cooperation in the post-Brexit era: enhancing collaborative approaches for environmental protection and conservation

Brexit has led to profound changes in the United Kingdom's environmental legislation, previously dominated by EU regulations. While Brexit advocates argued for the UK's autonomy in crafting its own policies, EU law continues to exert influence in several areas. Central to this transition is the Retained EU Legislation (Revocation and Reform) Act, which enables the UK to retain or modify EU-derived laws through mechanisms such as the sunset clause. This introduces concerns about legislative gaps that may weaken environmental protections.

The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) plays a key role in maintaining environmental standards, with provisions like the "non-regression" clause preventing a rollback of protections, and the Level-Playing Field framework incorporating principles such as "polluter pays" and the precautionary principle. Despite these safeguards, the post-Brexit period has raised questions about the UK's capacity to ensure robust environmental governance, particularly given the challenges posed by devolution, especially in Scotland, and the limited timeframe for legislative reviews.

The introduction of the Environment Act 2021 aims to address these gaps, providing a new framework for environmental protection. Nonetheless, the ongoing recalibration of environmental law post-Brexit poses significant challenges to the UK's ability to meet its international commitments and maintain equivalent standards across all sectors of environmental governance.