Brexit could put wildlife and farming at risk, MPs warn
Farmers also face “significant risks”, stated committee chair Mary Creagh MP.
The UK’s wildlife, farming and habitats could come under threat when we leave the EU, unless the government takes action before, or in the early stages of negotiations, MPs have warned.
EU law provides the UK with key environmental protections which may be weakened by Brexit, the Environmental Audit Committee said, as it called for the introduction of a new Environmental Protection Act during the Article 50 negotiations.
Committee chair Mary Creagh MP explained: “Changes from Brexit could put our countryside, farming and wildlife at risk. Protections for Britain’s wildlife and special places currently guaranteed under European law could end up as ‘zombie legislation’ even with the Great Repeal Bill.”
Simply ‘copying’ EU legislation into UK law will not be sufficient for up to a third of the UK’s environmental protections. There is a risk that ‘zombie legislation’ would mean wildlife protections are no longer updated, with no body to enforce them.
The Birds and Habitats directives, for example, protect wild birds and the UK’s most important wildlife and plant habitats. After Brexit, they will no longer exist in their current form, which could have wide-ranging negative impacts on the UK’s biodiversity.
Farmers also face “significant risks”, stated Creagh. As EU farm subsidies make up 50-60 per cent of farm incomes, leaving will threaten the viability of some farms. Creagh said it is “concerning” that the environment secretary Andrea Leadsom gave the committee “no reassurance that there would be subsidies for farmers after we leave the EU.”
Furthermore, if the UK does not enter into an arrangement with the European Single Market, the farming industry may face tariffs and non-tariff barriers on produce exported to the EU. The committee was told that if the UK does not have free access to the Single Market, sheep exports could face in excess of 30 per cent tariffs, and beef 50 per cent.
In addition to a new Environmental Protection Act, the committee said the government must set out how it will ensure equivalent or better environmental protection when we leave the EU, providing full parliamentary scrutiny of plans for future environmental legislation.
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