Brexit and Environmental Law: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The prospect of the UK leaving the European Union poses significant challenges for UK environmental law. Fundamentally, this is because environmental issues, both legal and physical, cannot be hermetically sealed within a single jurisdiction. Environmental law is an inherently multi-jurisdictional and transnational enterprise, making the EU a highly competent regulatory actor in pursuing many environmental objectives. Initially, Brexit appears to pose mainly technical challenges for UK environmental law, but these challenges reflect more fundamental normative and institutional issues. There is a complex legal task ahead in translating and disaggregating an extensive and intricate EU environmental acquis into ‘sovereign’ UK environmental law.

Keywords: Brexit, UK environmental law