UK Withdrawal from the EU (Continuity) (Scotland) Bill
Drawing on key points from its 2019 advice paper on environmental principles and governance post-Brexit, the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) has prepared a submission to the Scottish Parliament Environment, Climate Change, and Land Reform Committee’s call for evidence on the environmental aspects of the UK Withdrawal from the EU (Continuity) (Scotland) Bill.
The response expresses RSE’s support for keeping pace with EU environmental law and emphasises the need to develop a common environmental framework across the devolved nations to ensure these protections are not undermined by divergent policy approaches, facilitated by an independent secretariat. It also reiterates the importance of an expanded set of environmental principles beyond the four that are proposed and of having the duty to abide by these principles apply to all public bodies. Lastly, the response supports the establishment of a new public independent body, Environmental Standards Scotland, which among other functions should seek to maintain relationships with key European environmental organisations and networks.
