As a follow-up to my earlier posts about the continuing debate on the role of the United Kingdom (UK) within or outside the European Union, a recent call for evidence on the environment and climate change has been made as part of the UK Government’s Review of the Balance of Competences between the UK and the European Union.
This report, led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), will examine the EU’s competence (power to act) in the areas of the environment and climate change. The report will examine the scope of the EU’s competence, how it is used and its effect on the UK.
The consultation covers all areas of environmental policy including air pollution, noise, chemicals regulation, industrial pollution, water, waste and the EU emissions trading scheme (EU ETS).
The Review is designed to provide an informed and objective analysis of what EU membership means for the UK and our shared national interest with the intention that the final report will draw principally on evidence submitted during the 12 week call for evidence period.
The timetable is for the report on the consultation to be published by Autumn 2014 to allow a position to be developed to feed into the UK’s possible renegotiation of its role with Europe in 2015.
The call for Evidence runs from 20 May 2013 to 12 Aug 2013 with further information available at http://bit.ly/19Uf98h