{"id":37500,"date":"2018-09-13T17:11:59","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T16:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/?p=37500"},"modified":"2018-09-13T17:11:59","modified_gmt":"2018-09-13T16:11:59","slug":"uk-offers-green-assurances-no-deal-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2018\/09\/13\/uk-offers-green-assurances-no-deal-brexit\/","title":{"rendered":"UK offers green assurances for no-deal Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK government says its environment and energy rules will remain in step with the EU’s even if it makes a hard, no-deal exit next year. Time, however, is running short.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a\u00a0batch of papers<\/a>\u00a0released on Thursday, the department for exiting the EU detailed\u00a0how it is preparing for a\u00a0possible crash Brexit on 29 March \u2014 while stressing that it continues to negotiate for a “good and sustainable future relationship” with the European Union.<\/p>\n

The\u00a025 notices\u00a0set out the government’s plans for a no-deal departure in a wide range of policy areas,\u00a0including\u00a0industrial and vehicle emissions,\u00a0nuclear energy, farming, medicines, product labelling, money and tax, and applications for EU funding. This is the first instalment of notices, and more\u00a0are expected this month.<\/p>\n

They’re meant to quell business and public concerns as Brexit day looms and the potential for a no-deal departure grows more realistic, particularly with little progress in negotiations for the overarching EU-UK relationship.<\/p>\n

With just over six months to go, critics argue the government\u00a0is moving too slowly and has given few details on preparations such as the new environmental watchdog agency.<\/p>\n

“Repeated (& welcome) refrain of continued commitment to high standards\u00a0\u2014 but will the statutory instruments be ready in time to bring over all EU law by exit day? Complex process that must be watertight, and we haven\u2019t even seen drafts yet. Tick, tock…” tweeted<\/a> Amy Mount from the Greener UK coalition of environmental organisations.<\/p>\n

What happens in the next few months will impact the future of the Paris Agreement and the global climate
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If you value our coverage, please consider helping us. Become a CHN patron for\u00a0as little as $7\u00a0a month.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The EU’s biggest tools for cutting greenhouse emissions and boost clean energy are not mentioned.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0government was expected to include a notice on preparations for the emissions trading system, which applies to 11,000 factories and power plants across the EU, plus air\u00a0travel within the bloc. It\u00a0is now planned for a later instalment, a government spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

There is also no mention of policies setting national emissions reduction goals for sectors such as transport, buildings and agriculture, or of EU renewable energy and energy efficiency targets\u00a0and the internal energy market.<\/p>\n

Cars, coolants and industrial plants<\/strong><\/p>\n

Instead, Thursday’s publication sets out London’s plans for replacing the EU’s CO2 emissions<\/a> targets for cars and vans registered in the bloc.<\/p>\n

In a no-deal Brexit, EU rules would stop applying to new vehicles registered in Britain.\u00a0The country’s department for transport would therefore take over the European Commission’s role, with the aim of setting rules that are\u00a0“at least as ambitious as current arrangements,” the notice stated.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0same goes for\u00a0limits on ozone-depleting<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0potent greenhouse gas emissions from coolants,\u00a0according to\u00a0another notice.\u00a0EU regulation requires the\u00a0phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in line with the international Montreal Protocol. As part of it, the European Commission hands out HFC quotas to businesses, gradually reducing them every few years.<\/p>\n

If Britain crashes out next year, the majority of the EU’s rules for\u00a0this group of pollutants\u00a0will continue to apply, the government said. It would allocate quotas in the same way and on the same schedule, just through a UK agency rather than Brussels.<\/p>\n

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1\/6 There are several environment-related papers amongst today\u2019s #NoDealBrexit<\/a> preparedness notices, but many of #GreenerUK<\/a>‘s questions are still unanswered \u2013 & some new risks have emerged https:\/\/t.co\/3oJVqImOTn<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Amy Mount (@ASmallAMount) September 13, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n