The Environmental Audit Committee has begun an inquiry into the government’s 25-year Environment Plan, published in January.
Among the plan’s proposals are a new statutory body to “champion and uphold environmental standards as we leave the European Union”. The EAC asked what role, legal basis and powers it would need and how these would compare to existing European Institutions? It asks what standard it would have to meet to be “world leading”?
Mary Creagh, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said:”Environmental protections must not be weakened as a result of leaving the European Union. EU laws which protect our natural spaces and native species risk becoming zombie legislation, and my Committee has previously called for a new Environmental Protection Act that enshrines targets on waste, water quality and air pollution in law.
“We will look at how the government intends to make the plan a reality, and whether the targets and timeframes are ambitious enough.
It is crucial that current targets aren’t dropped or missed, that legal protections are not weakened, and government departments aren’t let off the hook.”
The EAC wants written evidence to be submitted by 28 February
Follow the EAC inquiry