Responding to the consultation on Environmental Principles and Governance
The current UK government is committed to be the first generation leaving the environment in a better state than it inherited it.
Leaving the EU will create a gap in regulations and governance, and DEFRA are currently holding a consultation on the issue, which closes on 2nd August (https://consult.defra.gov.uk/eu/environmental-principles-and-governance). The consultation offers a rare and welcome opportunity to rethink the UK’s environmental framework.
DEFRA’s proposals to rework the principles guiding our environmental policy, including the precautionary and ‘polluter pays’ principles, could have long-term and far-reaching consequences for the delivery of environmental objectives set out in the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and beyond. The proposals also raise questions about future interactions between the UK’s devolved nations, collaboration across government departments, and the role of the planning system.
This event was organised by the Edge to encourage collaboration and debate among built environment professionals and inform responses to the DEFRA consultation. It included short presentations on the current environmental framework and possible options post-Brexit, followed by views from a range of professionals. A number of response points were proposed for debate by the audience, with the intention of developing a draft collective response to the consultation.
Chair: Professor Maria Lee, Faculty of Law and co-director of the Centre for Law and the Environment, University College London
Overview of Defra Proposals and options: Dr Tom West, Law and Policy Advisor, Client Earth
Respondees:
- Richard Blyth, Head of Policy, RTPI
- Ben Brown, Policy Manager, Landscape Institute
- Ant Wilson, Sustainability & Building Engineering, AECOM
Response summary: Julie Godefroy, Head of Sustainable Development, CIBSE and the Edge
Venue: 2nd Floor Lecture Theatre, UCL Energy Institute, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN
Downloads:
Edge Debate 83 flyer- Where do we stand?
Response to DEFRA consultation, submitted 2nd August 2018 - Edge submission to DEFRA on Environmental Principles and Governance-180802