Lords to hear evidence on environment and climate change policy after Brexit
The EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee will continue its short inquiry on environment and climate change policy after Brexit on Wednesday 2 November. The Committee will hear evidence from Water UK, Client Earth, the Environmental Services Association and leading experts and academics.
The transboundary nature of environmental issues means that UK and EU environments will be conjoined as much after as before Brexit. The UK's policies on environment and climate change will need to acknowledge these shared systems and the Government may want to consider the extent to which it intends to work cooperatively on these issues.
The first session of the Committee will explore what the UK's interests and objectives are in regard to transboundary environmental protection and what cooperation with the EU might be necessary.
The second session will explore the key challenges and opportunities in approaching specific climate change measures such as legally-binding targets and the EU ETS, and the possible implications of Brexit for international climate change action.
At 10:30am the Committee will speak to:
- Mr Jacob Hayler, Executive Director, Environmental Services Association
- Ms Sarah Mukherjee, Director of Environment, Water UK
- Mr Alan Andrews, Clean Air Project Leader, ClientEarth
The Committee is likely to ask:
- What are the key transboundary environmental issues for the UK?
- In what ways could the geography of the UK and its physical location in relation to Europe affect its relationship with the EU on environmental issues?
- How do other non-EU countries influence and work with the EU on these issues? How do these approaches work in practice?
- How far is it possible to deal with transboundary pollution through purely domestic measures?
At 11:45am the Committee will speak to:
- Mr Bob Ward, Policy and Communications Director, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
- Mr Jonathan Gaventa, Director, E3G
- Professor Michael Grubb, Professor of International Energy and Climate Change Policy, UCL
The Committee is likely to ask:
- Are there any elements of EU climate policy and mechanisms that the UK should particularly maintain or repeal? On what grounds?
- What will be the status of the UK's current climate targets after Brexit?
- What would be the implications and opportunities of the UK withdrawing from the EU ETS?
- What relationships should the UK cultivate to maintain international and EU influence on climate ambitions and regimes?
