A parliamentary committee has published its report on The Future of Natural Environment After EU Referendum, which calls for a new Environmental Protection Act.
The MPs in the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) want the UK government to introduce the act during the Article 50 negotiations to protect Britain’s wildlife and habitats.
“Changes from Brexit could put our countryside, farming and wildlife at risk,” said Mary Creagh MP, chair of the EAC.
“The government should safeguard protections for Britain’s wildlife and special places.”
The report suggests that up to a third of the UK’s environmental protections, currently covered by EU legislation, will be at risk if it is not updated, has no body enforcing it and minimal parliamentary scrutiny.
“There will be work to do to ensure we can continue to make these measures work once we leave the EU,” said environment secretary Andrea Leadsom.
