An analysis has found that the UK is using Brexit to weaken vital environmental protections and is falling behind the EU, despite Labour’s pledge not to lower standards.
Experts say ministers are choosing to use Brexit to “actively go backwards” in some areas, though there have been improvements in others, such as the ban on sand eel fishing. Despite promising a “reset” with the EU, Keir Starmer’s government has not yet started closing legal gaps that have widened since Brexit and is even removing some EU environmental rules from UK law.
Research by the Guardian and the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) shows the UK is lagging behind the EU in protecting rare species like red squirrels, improving air and water quality, removing hazardous chemicals from products, and making goods more recyclable and energy-efficient.
Since Brexit, the EU has introduced 28 new or updated environmental laws that the UK has not adopted. Meanwhile, the UK has weakened four of its own laws covering protected habitats, pesticides, and fisheries.
Key concerns include:
– The planning and infrastructure bill, which overrides the EU’s habitats directive and lets developers pay into a general nature fund instead of replacing destroyed habitats locally.
– Water policy, where the EU has stronger rules to clean rivers of chemicals and microplastics and make polluters pay for cleanup.
– Air pollution, as the EU tightens air quality standards while the UK has removed EU air pollution laws.
– Recycling and the circular economy, with the EU enforcing strict standards that could leave the UK as a dumping ground for hard-to-recycle products.
Last year, the UK was behind the EU in 17 environmental areas; that gap has now grown to 28.
There are a few positive developments, such as the sand eel fishing ban to help puffins, more marine protected areas, and linking farm subsidies to nature conservation. However, experts say these are outweighed by the lack of regulation in more critical areas.
Of particular concern is the government’s move to override EU-derived habitat regulations that protect species like dormice, red squirrels, and nightingales. The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), the UK’s post-Brexit environmental watchdog, has warned that the planning bill represents a “regression” in environmental law. Despite Labour’s manifesto promise to build homes without weakening environmental safeguards, the government has ignored the OEP’s advice.
Michael Nicholson, head of UK environmental policy at IEEP, said: “It is one thing deciding not to keep pace with the EU in actively strengthening our environmental laws but quite another to actively go backwards and remove environmental protections that we inherited from our EU membership.”The EU is scaling back some of its planned environmental legislation as politicians worldwide deprioritize climate and environmental action. During the first six months of the new European Commission’s term, the EU postponed a law aimed at curbing deforestation in supply chains by a year, extended automakers’ deadlines to meet pollution targets by two years, and downgraded the protection status of wolves. Environmental NGOs are also facing a funding freeze, which they argue weakens democracy. Following widespread farmers’ protests across Europe last year, lawmakers and member states nearly derailed a nature restoration law that EU institutions had already negotiated.
Nicholson commented: “Five years after Brexit, it’s clear the UK has chosen not to keep up with the EU in strengthening environmental laws and policies. The EU isn’t perfect when it comes to environmental protection, but the UK is falling behind. It should be using its post-Brexit independence to go further than the EU. Unfortunately, it’s losing this race to the top and has handed leadership to the EU.”
In some areas, Northern Ireland has had to adopt EU laws under the Windsor Framework, which maintains a soft border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member. These include rules on urban wastewater treatment, chemicals regulation, and pesticides.
Before leaving the EU, UK politicians—including former Environment Secretary Michael Gove—promised the country would become a “world leader” in environmental protection, using its new freedom to strengthen regulations. In most cases, however, the opposite has happened.
Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “The UK shouldn’t just match EU environmental standards—it should lead. In areas where the UK is falling behind, like banning toxic chemicals, aligning with the EU would save time, money, and wildlife. In other areas, the government could put a bold British spin on EU ideas. For example, the ‘polluter pays’ principle in the urban wastewater directive should be applied across the whole economy. Where the UK is leading, such as in nature-friendly farming and banning bottom-trawling, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs should have Starmer’s support to be bolder—turning tentative steps into a confident plan for a nature-positive economy.”
Green MP Ellie Chowns added: “The Green Party warned that Brexit could lead to a race to the bottom in regulation. Unfortunately, even with a Labour government elected a year ago, that hasn’t been prevented. It doesn’t have to be this way. We could have clean rivers, breathable air, farmers supported to work with nature, and consumer products designed to last and be recycled. We could work more closely with our EU neighbors and rejoin the customs union to raise our standards. Ultimately, it comes down to political choice. The government has made the wrong choices and needs to change direction.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the UKs environmental regulations postBrexit designed to be clear and helpful for a range of readers
General Beginner Questions
1 What does lagging behind the EU on environmental regulations actually mean
It means that since Brexit the UK government has chosen not to adopt some new stricter EU environmental laws and has weakened some existing UK rules putting its standards lower than those in EU countries
2 Why is this happening after Brexit
A key goal of Brexit was for the UK to make its own laws independently The government has stated it wants to create regulations that are tailored for the UK which sometimes means diverging from the EU
3 Is the UK getting rid of all its environmental rules
No not all Many core laws from the EU era are still in place However the government is reviewing and changing many areas often leading to less strict targets or slower timelines for action
Specific Examples Impacts
4 Can you give me a specific example of a rule that has been weakened
A major example is nutrient neutrality In 2023 the government tried to scrap rules that prevented new housing developments from polluting rivers with excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus a rule that remains strict in the EU
5 How does this affect our rivers and beaches
With weaker regulations on sewage and agricultural runoff more pollution can legally enter waterways This leads to more frequent sewage discharges poorer water quality and potentially more warnings against swimming at beaches
6 Does this affect the products I can buy
Yes potentially The EU has banned certain harmful pesticides and chemicals and is implementing strict rules on deforestationlinked products The UK has not always followed suit meaning products banned in the EU could still be sold in the UK
7 Will this make it harder to tackle climate change
It could While the UK has its own netzero targets weakening regulations in areas like emissions trading energy efficiency standards for buildings or green finance makes it more difficult and expensive to meet those goals
Advanced Policy Questions
8 What is the retained EU law issue and how does it relate to this
After Brexit thousands of EU laws were copied into UK law as retained EU law The government initially planned
