Whether we will see divergence or convergence in areas of devolved competence after Brexit has been a recurring question since the 2016 referendum. A simple answer is – both… and it depends on where/what we are looking at. Take environmental governance: one body for England and Northern Ireland (convergence) but a different body for Scotland (divergence). As for principles, England, Northern Ireland and Scotland have the same list of principles but each have their different guidance.   What of Wales in this context? As we have explained in our two previous blog posts, Wales is a late ..read more

Brexit opened environmental governance gaps in the UK. During the UK’s membership of the EU, many practical environmental governance functions, from setting long-term targets to monitoring practical conditions and enforcing compliance with environmental law was done (in part) by EU institutions. Brexit triggered a review of those arrangements: were some functions not needed anymore? If they were needed, could we ‘make do’ with existing bodies, or were new bodies needed?   All of these questions were made more difficult as ‘we’ in those questions is tricky to narrow down. The UK yes ..read more

After missing for two years, the Assembly and the Executive, especially the Minister in the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs have a lot of catch up to do. The new minister, Andrew Muir, is from a party, Alliance, which has never held this portfolio. He furthermore, compared to his predecessor, is not a farmer. He has committed to focus on the “full remit” of the department – which has already been interpreted by Agriland as meaning he would favour climate and environment over agriculture. Whether Muir will favour environmental action as much as agriculture policy (or i ..read more

Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in the UK and Ireland is dying. Eutrophication and ensuing wide-spread cyanobacteria bloom have seen the Lough turn bright green this summer, killing wildlife and stopping economic activity such as fishing and tourism. NI residents, both on its shore and beyond are worried about what this means for the quality of drinking water in Northern Ireland. 40 percent of NI waters come from the Lough.  Eutrophication is always a complex problem which is hard to fix. It is caused by an overabundance of nutrients which come from different sources. Reducing th ..read more

For centuries, scholars interested in Gnostic thought could only get their hands on critiques (indeed, very harsh critiques) of Gnosticism, and not the original texts which had mostly been destroyed. This changed in the 1940s with the discovery, and gradual translation of texts which had been buried in the Egyptian sand. What does this have to do with environmental governance in Northern Ireland in 2023? In the absence of a sitting Executive, we are in a very odd position. Not only are deadlines being missed and action not taken, but critical policy documents that have been produced are not be ..read more

In the wake of the Prime Minister’s recent announcement granting numerous new oil and gas licenses, the UK’s post-Brexit energy governance has come under intense scrutiny. This development follows our “green day” blog series in April, which aimed to shed light on the trajectory of the conservative government’s energy policies after Brexit. The UK’s journey towards sustainability and energy security has been marked by both promising steps and bewildering reversals. This blog post delves into the government’s post-Brexit energy policies, highlighting key policy shifts, their implications, and th ..read more

It has been seven years since the EU referendum and three and a half years since Brexit ‘proper’. This timeframe is both long enough for the UK to have profoundly changed its system of environmental governance and still quite early days to judge how successful those changes have been. Looking back, we can note a worrying tendency in Westminster towards centralised and slapdash environmental law. This centralisation of power (or ‘power grab’) raises questions about the balance of power between Parliament and Government and the implications for the UK territorial constitution. The hurried and sl ..read more

Two significant consultations on environmental governance and rights have been launched in Scotland. One reflects on the present position and proposes no changes. The other continues moves towards the major step of incorporating a range of social and economic human rights into the law, including the right to a healthy environment. Review of Environmental Governance The first publication is a direct consequence of Brexit since the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 required a review of the effectiveness and appropriateness of governance relating to the enviro ..read more

The story of the Conservative governments during the ‘Age of Brexit’ is one that has been marked by an almost constant state of contradiction when it comes to the UK’s efforts to position itself as a climate leader. At some points the UK has shown itself as an actor with real ambition – committing to levels of ambition that other leading economies soon followed and that others will likely follow in years to come. At other times, the UK has squandered significant chances to push forward strong climate action, with Tory governments seemingly hesitant to fully commit to the role of climate leader ..read more

Last Thursday, badged as ‘Green Day’, the UK government unleashed a wave of energy policy announcements in a huge range of areas, from subsidies for heat pumps to moving new oil field developments forward to reforming the electricity market. Altogether 44 documents comprising 2,840 pages were published, including a Powering up Britain summary, but amongst all the detail a few key themes stood out. First, there was little new funding, and many of the policies had been previously announced. In particular, there was nothing of the ambition of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act or the EU’s Net Zero I ..read more