Rectification at source and ‘the polluter pays’ are included in five policy principles released for consultation by the government. All five of the principles mirror to some extent those enshrined in EU law-making and practice.
The Environment Bill is expected to return to parliament in the next session in May and to be enacted before the COP26 climate summit in November. It will create a duty on ministers to have ‘due regard’ to the five legally-binding principles in all areas of policy making. National security and defence policy are exempted.
A note attached to the three-month consultation says that leaving the EU provides an opportunity to improve and strengthen regulation and that the principles will ensure that environmental protection and sustainable development are included in all policy-making. It asks if the draft principles contain enough information for policy makers to apply them correctly.
Martin Baxter, director of policy for the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), welcomed the principles as an opportunity to enhance environmental accountability. He added that IEMA would review the draft statement against IEMA’s core principles for the environment and engage members, before developing its response.
Signe Norberg, head of public affairs at the Aldersgate Group, said that the consultation marked a crucial step forward in progressing the Environment Bill. She commented: "Having clear and ambitious principles integrated into government policy provides a clear direction of travel, and creates market signals which will allow businesses to innovate and create jobs."
Environmental law charity, Client Earth noted that the principles would only bind central government, not all public bodies, and argued that they failed to guarantee the weight with which decision-makers must apply them. This would mean that their effectiveness in protecting the natural world could be undermined.
The five principles:
• Integration: Policy-makers should look for opportunities to embed environmental protection in other fields of policy that have impacts on the environment
• Prevention: Government policy should aim to prevent, reduce or mitigate harm
• Rectification at source: If damage to the environment cannot be prevented it should be tackled at its origin
• Polluter pays. Those who cause pollution or damage to the environment should be responsible for mitigation or compensation
• Precautionary. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, a lack of scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.