With Parliament back from its summer recess their focus is
firmly on working out how Britain will leave the EU.
You may have read about a new group "Clexit" which is calling
for the UK to withdraw from climate treaties (including the Paris
agreement). This would be a catastrophic
step backwards for the environment and we urge everyone to totally
reject this approach.
We have written to our local MP, Mel Stride asking him to ensure
that the environment doesn't suffer as a result of Brexit:
Dear Mel
I am writing on behalf of Sustainable
Crediton to ask for your support in maintaining environmental
standards when the UK leaves the EU.
Sustainable Crediton is a local
environmental group with over 750 members, dedicated
to helping people in Crediton and the local area lead more
sustainable lifestyles and work towards a carbon neutral
future. The group does not have a corporate position on
whether the UK should remain a member of the EU, however we
have always been clear on the beneficial impact that EU
legislation has had in many areas of environmental policy.
We believe it is essential that these standards are
maintained, should the UK leave the EU.
While a majority of votes cast
supported leaving the EU in the recent referendum, the
vote did not clarify what form any future relationship with
the EU should take. We therefore believe that Parliament
should debate and agree any policy positions that the UK
takes into exit negotiations (assuming Parliament also decides
that the UK should leave the EU).
Whenever such debates are held, we
call on you to support the following position:
- First, all existing EU environmental legislation should be
maintained in the UK after leaving the EU.
- Second, a UK-EU forum should be established for drawing up
future environmental standards, and these standards should be
legally binding on both sides.
These objectives could be achieved by
any number of arrangements including (though not limited to)
membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) or a bilateral trade
deal, similar to that negotiated by Switzerland.
We trust that you are able to support
this position, which we believe is in both the UK's and
the EU's interest.