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Consultation document proposes replacing the European Commission with a new environmental watchdog, among other recommendations.

By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green

The UK government has announced a consultation in relation to the proposed new Environmental Principles and Governance Bill, which aims to ensure maintained and strengthened environmental protection following the UK’s exit from the EU. While this particular consultation, which was announced on 10 May, relates to England, the government has indicated that it will “… work closely with devolved administrations on common frameworks”. The government’s intention is to “… ensure we leave our environment in a better state than we inherited it”. The planned publication date for the Bill is this autumn.

The consultation document includes three parts:

  • Part 1 relates to the effect of environmental principles enshrined in both international and EU law, and how England’s statutory framework could incorporate these principles.
  • Part 2 addresses the idea of establishing a new watchdog to hold the government to account in relation to environmental protection.
  • Part 3 explores what the exact function and role of the new watchdog would be, as well as the responsibilities of government and Parliament in developing policy and law, along with the Environment Agency’s and Natural England’s role in implementing such policies.

Significant English Supreme Court decision overturns High Court and Appeal Court ruling on personal injury compensation.

By Paul A. Davies and Michael D. Green

Three former employees of a chemical company appealed against the decisions of the High Court and the Court of Appeal that held they could not claim against their employer for damages for personal injury.

Johnson Matthey, the respondent employer, allegedly failed to properly clean the areas in which three of its employees worked and, as a result, they developed a sensitivity to platinum salts whilst working on the production of catalytic converters. Two of the men were dismissed on medical grounds and the other was given a lesser paid position as a result. The sensitivity was discovered after a routine skin prick test was carried out.

The action plan recommends leveraging London’s leading role in global green finance to grow green opportunities.

By Paul A. Davies

The Green Finance Taskforce’s first report, “Accelerating Green Finance,” advises the UK government on how to achieve important green finance goals, carbon targets in relation to the Paris Agreement. The report, published on 28 March, recommended the establishment of a Green Finance Institute, which would be a “one-stop-shop’ for all work relating to this sector. The report also advised:

  • Boosting investment in innovative clean technologies
  • Driving demand and supply for green lending products
  • Setting up Clean Growth Regeneration Zones
  • Improving climate risk management with advanced data
  • Building a green and resilient infrastructure pipeline
  • Issuing of a sovereign green bond for green projects, including flood defence

Sir Roger Gifford, Chairman of the Green Finance Institute, noted that “[t]he opportunities for green investment are plentiful — London’s deep pools of liquidity make it the natural choice for financing these initiatives.”[1]

Long-awaited 25-year environment plan aims to “restore” nature and eliminate plastic waste.

By Paul Davies and Michael Green

The UK government has announced its long-awaited 25-year environment plan (the ‘Plan’).

Having originally said it would publish the Plan by the end of 2016, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) subsequently delayed the release, raising concerns that the Plan might not come to fruition until after Brexit. In 2017, Defra requested input from the Natural Capital Committee (NCC), which was duly published in September of last year. The NCC suggested a number of ambitious goals that should be included in the Plan, such as the remediation of all historical land contamination and that air quality throughout the UK should meet international health-based standards.