Those in favour of Britain’s continued membership of the European Union – although strangely not the UK government’s official campaign to remain in – are increasingly highlighting the contribution Brussels has made to protecting the natural environment. There is some justification for this, writes Professor Steffen Böhm of the University of Exeter, but in several key areas the influence of the EU on UK’s environmental policy has been negative rather than beneficial. Courtesy The Conversation.
During the 1970s and 80s Britain was famously disparaged as the “dirty man of Europe”, a polluting nation only persuaded and coerced into cleaning up its act by a succession of EU regulations. A recent report by the House of Commons environmental audit committee argued membership had been positive for the UK environment and noted that “none of the witnesses to our inquiry, even those who made criticisms, made an environmental case for leaving the European Union”.
I’m not here to argue for Brexit. But the EU’s green record is hardly unblemished. Indeed, in several key areas, European policies have slowed if not reversed the UK’s progress on environmental protection. And a major new EU-US trade agreement just around the corner could threaten much of what has been achieved.
- Climate change
The UK’s target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is significantly more ambitious than that required under current European rules. The EU’s pledge at last year’s Paris conference was modest enough that Britain had already effectively promised to cut emissions “at twice the rate of the EU as a whole”.
Given the privileged access that big energy and fossil fuel companies had to the EU’s top climate policy decision makers in the run-up to the Paris gathering, we shouldn’t be surprised by the underwhelming commitment. Should the UK vote to remain, its generous contribution towards Europe’s emissions pledge merely takes the pressure off other member states, resulting in no net global benefit. It’s a point raised in the Commons report itself.
- Biofuels are not green
The EU is a big supporter of biofuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol. The European Commission’s website describes these fuels – manufactured on an industrial scale in Europe from crops such as rape, sunflower, wheat and maize – as “a renewable alternative to fossil fuels in the transport sector, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the EU’s security of supply”. The EU has set a target that by 2020, 10% of the transport fuel of every member comes from “renewable sources such as biofuels”.
Burning crops rather than petrol sounds like a good idea. However, these biofuels don’t actually do much to reduce overall emissions, once you take into account the extra land turned over to crop cultivation and the greenhouse gases used in fertilisers.
In addition, much of the biofuel used in the EU is imported from poorer countries, contributing to land grabbing in Africa and other places. Some experts have called this a new kind of biofuel-colonialism.
- Cars over clean air
The EU’s support for the automotive industry further tarnishes its green credentials. Although Europe is to be congratulated for introducing tough vehicle exhaust emissions limits over the years, the cosy relationship with manufacturers when it comes to enforcement is hardly laudable. For decades carmakers – with Europe’s tacit connivance – have benefited from loopholes in testing procedures allowing vehicles onto the road which emit substantially more “real world” CO2 emissions than the rigged test cycles suggest.
During the Volkswagen emissions scandal documents emerged revealing how leading member states including the UK had just months previously lobbied the commission to carry over these dodgy rules into new test procedures coming in to force in 2017. If VW hadn’t happened, those loopholes may still have been in place.
- TTIP trades protection for economic growth
But perhaps the greatest potential blot in the EU’s green copybook is its impending monster trade deal with the US. A series of bilateral trade negotiations, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership aims to boost the economies of the EU and the US by removing or reducing barriers to trade and foreign investment.
The political establishment and large businesses across Europe largely support TTIP, but critics distrust the secretive process by which it is being hammered out. They’re even more concerned that the deal will negatively affect small businesses and water down a swathe of hard-won social, safety, democratic – and, yes, environmental – protections in the name of economic growth.
Sometimes, as with diesel emissions, US environment standards exceed those of the EU. But it’s not the norm. With more than 60% of all processed foods in the US containing genetically-modified organisms, American negotiators will be pushing hard to overturn the EU’s current ban on GM food imports, not to mention Europe’s strict pesticide rules and its favouring of the precautionary principle when it comes to assessing potentially toxic chemical substances, as enshrined in the EU’s REACH regulations
A confidential draft of a “sustainable development chapter” of the TTIP negotiations, leaked in late 2015, contained vaguely phrased and non-binding commitments. This is merely paying lip service to the environment.
The EU does have much to be proud of when it comes to environmental and social idealism – and it certainly talks a good talk – but recent history tells us that when the chips are down economic imperatives and big, polluting, businesses take precedence. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. After all, when the EU’s precursor organisation was founded in 1951, the environment wasn’t even mentioned. In those days it was known as the European Coal and Steel Community. What could be greener than that?
Editor’s Note
Steffen Böhm is Professor in Organisation and Sustainability at University of Exeter. This article was first published on The Conversation and is republished here with permission from the publisher and author.
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Mike Parr says
The professor’s article contains a series of contradictory points the key one is that lobbying by EU member states (including the UK) diluted legislation aimed at improving the environment – but EU MS are – the EU. EU MS have made little progress in addressing, for example, vehicle emissions – but the UK is the only one that fought (against NGOs) through the (UK) courts to not to have to take any action. The victory in the UK high court in early 2015 forced Camoron’s gov’- Dept for Envo’ & Ag’ to publish a report showing that indeed, around 54k people per year are dying in the UK from vehicle related pollution. Camoron’s gov still refuses to take any action – which is understandable given that his Tory party regards most UK subjects (tug your forelocks to Mrs Queen) as scum/serfs (myself and the prof’ included in that category). Camoron has a public relations background – this is reflected in the good PR the UK gov’ spins – but the reality is Potemkin-like – & makes EU/EC PR efforts (mentioned by the prof’ in the last para) look what they are, highly amateurish.
Car companies lobbying? That’s what they do – the MS (including the UK) set the tone – if they buckle to the lobbying (or encourage it) the EC usually “goes with the flow”. Going back to the UK gov’, it had reports since 2011 from its own transport groups showing NOX levels many times higher than those permitted – action? zero.
In the case of UK CO2 reduction targets, these have been partly met through large-scale de-industrialisation (followed by rises in imports from places such as China). Whilst this puts UK serfs/scum (and Labour voters) out of jobs this does not matter (to Tory politicos) for the reasons already given. TTIP? a red herring, it has to be passed by ALL EU MS parliaments. There is exactly zero chance of this every happening. TTIP is “pass the parcel” – a means for some in the EC bureaucracy to further their careers, nothing more, nothing less. Biofuels? The EU/EC (finally) sees the mistake & is trying to change things – contrast that with the UK & action on vehicle emissions.
Past and current UK ministers that hold/held the envo’ and energy portfolios in the UK – shows where the UK gov’ stands: the holders of the portfolios are mostly a mix of climate deniers (e.g. Patterson) or “free market” ideologues (e.g. Amber Dud). They make the EU and the EC look progressive and sensible.
Whilst the UK was indeed the “dirty man of Europe” in the 1980s now it is just the lying, thuggish & moronic man of Europe. The Breixt “debate” is mostly two wings of the UK Tory party lying to each other. At the lower thuggish/moronic end one only needs to look as far as Marseille and UK hooligans/Brexit supporters and their “respect” for French hospitality (could I sponsor a cattle truck to take them back to the UK?).
So no, EU envo’ policies have not “slowed” UK envo’ policies for the simple reason that the UK has PR, not policies & this will remain the case until the UK grows up (politically) – and stops throwing its toys around like a small child wanting the adults to humour it.