How realistic is Michael Gove’s ‘green Brexit’ vision?

We have heard about many versions of Brexit since the day of the referendum in 2016 – hard, soft, and all the colours of the rainbow. Grey and red, or white and blue have been proposed, but perhaps most intriguing is Michael Gove’s promise of a “green Brexit”.

Mr Gove – who is of course an avowed Brexiteer – has spent his time as environment secretary enthusiastically making the case for such an approach. In his view, leaving the EU means we can not only match Europe for green policies, but outclass them.

This is easier said than done. Most of the UK’s environmental protections are based on EU law, meaning from the outset they were set for severe disruption, and the officials in Mr Gove’s department had a big job on their hands.

And while having such a prominent politician in charge of Britain’s environment has undoubtedly pushed green issues up the agenda, there are many powerful forces to contend with. The pressure to agree new trade deals – especially with countries for which environmental and animal welfare concerns are not high on the agenda – could leave us with watered down standards.

There is also the concern that amid the high drama and frantic discussions about migration and economic chaos, the environment will simply take a back seat.

However, there is reason to be hopeful. The government has given the country a taste of what its vision for a green Brexit – and a green Britain – looks like, first in its 25-year environment plan, then in an agriculture bill and finally in an environment bill rushed out at the end of December.

Under these strategies, Europe’s controversial common agriculture policy will be replaced with a system that rewards British farmers for their environmental work – protecting habitats, providing flood defences and improving water quality.

In the environment bill, the first of its kind in two decades, the government laid out proposals for an independent body that could take legal action to enforce green laws, taking the role currently occupied by the European Commission.

This all sounds wonderful, and in line with Mr Gove’s vision of being “the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than that in which we found it”. But as with everything Brexit-related, things are not quite so simple.

With just three months to go until Britain leaves the EU, there is an awful lot that remains unresolved.

Crucially, even within the government’s flagship policy announcements, environmental groups are concerned there are still far too many loopholes and omissions that will mean Britain is left with weaker environmental regulations than it had in the EU.

While the agriculture bill may well improve on the EU’s widely derided Common Agricultural Policy, it does not include baseline rules to ensure all farmers curb their pollution.

As for the new environmental watchdog, this still remains an ill-defined entity that campaigners say will lack the legal clout to hold authorities to account.

This is all assuming the worst doesn’t happen. If the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, everyone – including Michael Gove – seems to agree that everything from livestock exports to waste management will be thrown into turmoil.

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