The UK government is overlooking its post-Brexit green watchdog’s advice on removing air quality regulations.
The Office for Environmental Protection was set up in 2020 in order to replace the role the EU had played in regulating and enforcing environmental law in the UK amid concern that it might not hold the same power to hold public bodies to account.
Last month the agency wrote to the environment minister Thérèse Coffey saying that the national emissions ceiling regulations (NECR), which sets upper limits on the levels of certain pollutants, should not be deleted from the Retained EU Law Act.
The act, which is a bill to revoke certain EU laws, came into place in June. The government voted down an amendment that would have prioritised the environment last week.
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In a letter to Thérèse Coffey, the OEP chair Dame Glenys Stacey said: “Environmental safeguards were not written into the Act, contrary to the advice of the OEP and others, but we have welcomed publicly the assurances from Government that environmental protections will not be weakened as a result of the Act, and that international commitments will be upheld”.
She continued saying that however the OEP believe that the revocation of the NECR limits “weakens accountability and transparency and – in the absence of an alternative comprehensive plan – it has the potential to weaken environmental protection.”
In her response to the letter the environment secretary said: “We remain committed to reducing emissions of the 5 key air pollutants and achieving the emission reduction targets set out in the NECR”.
It comes as there has been concern around the impact of particulate matter, particularly particles that are under 2.5 microns or less, on health – from asthma to antibacterial resistance.
