9.3% of total energy generated for the year, David Cameron proceeded to cut new subsidies for the creation of new wind farms in the 2015 party manifesto. As a result, the number of new turbines built in 2015 dropped by over 50% from 2014 statistics. I submit that this was a bad move to make on his part, and while he claims that adverse public opinion was the cause for the cuts, other sources claimed that the public sentiment regarding wind energy was at an all-time high. And even still, by the end of 2015, despite the efforts to build more turbines, the UK falls greatly short of the amount of wind energy that Germany produces, and is also nearly half of what Spain produces. Now with the new Conservative government taking over post-Brexit, I find it to be crucial that Theresa May and her Environmental Secretary, Andrea Leadsom, make the environment a priority whilst they work on negotiations to exit the EU. Unfortunately, both May and Leadsom have voting records that often work against environmental reform. And in the first days of her premiership, May abolished the Department of Energy and Climate Change, a decision that I find to be deeply worrying when considering how she has voted against measures that supported the decarbonisation of the UK’s energy and was absent for many environmental and energy votes. Leadsom has been becoming a greener voter in recent months, voting for tighter measures of fracking but not for a decarbonisation target. And despite her shaky record, Leadsom promised to maintain the UK’s environmental commitments, saying that reducing greenhouse gasses was a duty to future generations. This pledge will become increasingly important as many of the paths that the UK is set on were instated by EU directives. And given how little effort the UK has shown in conforming to said EU directives, I worry that this new government will be putting the environment on the back bench.
How much of the UK’s Environmental law relies on the EU? It seems like the majority of modern environmental law, which involves the UK, comes from EU directives. Natura 2000 protects the UK’s wildlife and promotes exercise; and directives on air, water, waste, and wildlife protect everything from the UK’s air to its beaches. However, like stated before, the British government does not usually cooperate fully with the EU directives, but fight any progressive reform, forcing the EU to impose fines on the UK when they become non-compliant. I am concerned by this, because if the EU has been pushing for reform that places them at the pinnacle of environmental reform, and the UK is fighting that reform despite being a member, then it seems like the UK will not have the environment as a top priority when negotiating their exit from the EU. As a result, British wildlife may be at risk if provisions are not made to keep Natura 2000, or some form of it. British air quality will have less restrictions and may not receive the attention it needs; and the same goes for Britain’s beaches (coastal bathing sites), only 59.5% of which were rated ‘Excellent’ in 2015 by the European Commission. This number may seem decent as another 27.4% were classified as ‘Good’, but compared to countries that have hundreds of sites more than the UK (Italy, France, Spain, Croatia, Greece, Denmark), the UK scored the lowest of the bunch, with only Sweden, Estonia, and Romania having less coastal bathing sites that were rated ‘Excellent’. This is yet another concern that the new government may not be willing to fix. And it only makes me more certain that the EU is the main force behind Britain’s environmental law.
The Decline of Globalisation and the Paris Agreement With Britain on its way out of the EU, the new President-Elect of the USA, and the rise of other far-right candidates in other countries, the rhetoric that has been taking centre stage has struck me
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