COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - UNITED KINGDOM Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results
Date: 2017-02-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, EU initiative, United Kingdom, application of EU law, environmental law, environmental protection, pollution control measures

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.2.2017  SWD(2017) 59 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review  Country Report - UNITED KINGDOM   Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results   {COM(2017) 63 final} {SWD(2017) 33 - 58 final} {SWD(2017) 60 final}  
 
 
United Kingdom  2 

This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European 
Commission. Any comments are welcome to the following e-mail address: ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu  

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United Kingdom  3 

Table of Content 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 4 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ............................................................................................................................... 5 

1. 

TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-
CARBON ECONOMY ............................................................................................................................... 5 

Developing a circular economy and improving resource efficiency ..................................................... 5 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 7 

2. 

PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL ....................................................... 9 

Nature and Biodiversity ......................................................................................................................... 9 
Estimating natural capital ................................................................................................................... 11 
Green Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................... 11 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 12 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 13 

3. 

ENSURING CITIZENS' HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE .......................................................................... 15 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 15 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 15 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 16 
Enhancing the sustainability of cities .................................................................................................. 18 
International agreements ................................................................................................................... 19 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ..................................................................... 20 

4.  MARKET BASED INSTRUMENTS AND INVESTMENTS .......................................................................... 20 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 20 
Green Public Procurement .................................................................................................................. 21 
Investments: the contribution of EU funds ......................................................................................... 21 

5. 

EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE AND KNOWLEDGE ...................................................................................... 23 

Effective governance within central, regional and local government ................................................. 23 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 24 
Public participation and access to justice ........................................................................................... 26 
Access to Information, knowledge and evidence ............................................................................... 26 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
 
United Kingdom  4 

Executive summary 

related  economic  development  measures.  The  UK 
implementing 
responsible 
is 
government 
environmental policy in England.  

for 

Main Challenges 

three  main 

to 
The 
implementation  of  EU  environmental  policy  and  law  in 
the United Kingdom are: 

challenges  with 

regard 

 

Improving  air  quality 
nitrogen dioxide (NO2).  

in  urban  areas,  especially 

  Tackling water quality, notably agricultural pollution 
nitrates)  but  also  remaining  urban  waste  water 
issues such as storm water overflows.  

  Completing the Natura 2000 designation process for 
marine  sites, 
increase  the  focus  on  protecting 
species  and  habitats  outside  the  limited  UK  Natura 
2000  terrestrial  network  and  to  develop  an  overall 
protection  strategy  for  dispersed  species  such  as 
bats and great crested newts. 

Main Opportunities 

The  United  Kingdom  could  perform  better  on  topics 
where there is already a good knowledge base and good 
practices. This applies in particular to: 

  Recycling. The WRAP programme (in England, Wales 
and  Northern  Ireland)  which  aims  at  showing  how 
businesses, organisations and consumers can be part 
of  a  resource  revolution  can  be  a  basis  for  making 
further progress on waste and resource efficiency. 

Points of Excellence 

Where the United Kingdom is a leader on environmental 
implementation,  innovative  approaches  could  be  shared 
more widely with other countries. Good examples are: 

  A specialised bank, the Green Investment Bank, is in 
charge of attracting private investments in the green 
economy. 

  National 

infrastructure  pipeline,  which  gives  an 
overall 
in 
picture 
infrastructure  and  which  is  updated  regularly  basis 
provides a sound basis for governmental decisions. 
  The  UK  is  one  of  the  frontrunners  on  Green  Public 

investment 

planned 

of 

Procurement. 

  The UK possesses an advanced approach on natural 

capital accounting.  

About the Environmental Implementation Review 

launched 

reports  describing 

the 
the  Commission 
In  May  2016, 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  (EIR),  a  two-year 
cycle  of  analysis,  dialogue  and  collaboration  to  improve 
the  implementation  of  existing  EU  environmental  policy 
and  legislation1.  As  a  first  step,  the  Commission  drafted 
28 
the  main  challenges  and 
opportunities on environmental implementation for each 
Member  State.  These  reports  are  meant  to  stimulate  a 
positive debate both on shared environmental challenges 
for  the  EU,  as  well  as  on  the  most  effective  ways  to 
address the key implementation gaps. The reports rely on 
the detailed sectoral implementation reports collected or 
issued  by  the  Commission  under  specific  environmental 
legislation  as  well  as  the  2015  State  of  the  Environment 
Report  and  other  reports  by  the  European  Environment 
Agency.  These  reports  will  not  replace  the  specific 
instruments  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  EU  legal 
obligations.  

The  reports  will  broadly  follow  the  outline  of  the  7th 
Environmental Action Programme2 and refer to the 2030 
related 
for  Sustainable  development  and 
Agenda 
Sustainable  Development  Goals  (SDGs)3 to  the  extent  to 
which  they  reflect  the  existing  obligations  and  policy 
objectives of EU environmental law4.  

The  main  challenges  have  been  selected  by  taking  into 
account factors such as the importance or the gravity of 
the  environmental  implementation  issue  in  the  light  of 
the  impact  on  the  quality  of  life  of  the  citizens,  the 
distance to target, and financial implications. 

The  reports  accompany  the  Communication  "The  EU 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  2016:  Common 
challenges  and  how  to  combine  efforts  to  deliver  better 
results", which identifies challenges that are common to 
several Member States, provides preliminary conclusions 
on  possible  root  causes  of  implementation  gaps  and 
proposes  joint  actions  to  deliver  better  results.  It  also 
groups in its Annex the actions proposed in each country 
report to improve implementation at national level. 

General  

Environmental policy is primarily devolved within the UK, 
with  the  devolved  administrations  (Scotland,  Northern 
Ireland  and  Wales)  responsible  for  environmental  and 

1 Communication "Delivering the benefits of EU environmental policies 

through a regular Environmental Implementation Review" 
(COM/2016/ 316 final). 

2 Decision No. 1386/2013/EU of 20 November 2013 on a General Union 
Environmental Action Programme to 2020 "Living well, within the 
limits of our planet". 

3 United Nations, 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals  
4 This EIR report does not cover climate change, chemicals and energy. 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
Part I: Thematic Areas 

United Kingdom  5 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 
competitive low-carbon economy

Developing  a  circular  economy  and  improving 
resource efficiency 

The 2015 Circular Economy Package emphasizes the need 
to  move  towards  a  lifecycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
with a cascading use of resources and residual waste that 
is  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by  the 
development  of,  and  access  to,  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

SDG  8  invites  countries  to  promote  sustained,  inclusive 
and  sustainable  economic  growth,  full  and  productive 
employment  and  decent  work  for  all.  SDG  9  highlights 
infrastructure,  promote 
the  need  to  build  resilient 
inclusive  and  sustainable  industrialization  and  foster 
innovation.  SDG  12  encourages  countries to  achieve  the 
sustainable  management  and  efficient  use  of  natural 
resources by 2030. 

Measures towards a circular economy 

Transforming our economies from linear to circular offers 
an  opportunity  to  reinvent  them  and  make  them  more 
stimulate 
sustainable  and  competitive.  This  will 
investments and bring both short and long-term benefits 
for the economy, environment and citizens alike.   

Several systemic and transformative eco-innovations and 
supporting policies are emerging in the United Kingdom, 
aiming  to  make  a  complete  shift  in  current  patterns  of 
production and consumption. 

The  UK  government  publication  'Enabling  the  Transition 
to  a  Green  Economy:  government  and  business  working 
together'  is  a  response  to  requests  from  the  private 
sector for greater clarity on the policies being put in place 
to achieve this and how they come together5.  

In 2015, the UK Government published a report entitled 
“Resource  management:  a  catalyst  for  growth  and 
productivity” that highlights economic direct and indirect 
benefits as well as environmental benefits brought by the 
waste  and  resource  management  sector  to  the  UK 
economy.  The  report  found  that  in  2013,  the  sector 
employed 672,000 people and generated GBP 6.8 billion 
gross value added, or GBP 41 billion when adding re-use, 
repair  and 
leasing  of  household  goods  activities. 
Transitioning  towards  a  more  circular  economy  has  the 
potential to create even more economic opportunities. In 
terms  of  environmental  impacts,  this  means  reduced 

5 Eco-innovation Observatory, 2013.  Eco-innovation in United Kingdom  

carbon and water footprint, less soil and water pollution 
and better human health. 

The  UK  Government  has  also  set  up  the  Green 
Investment  Bank  (GIB)  to  deliver  support  to  offshore 
wind, energy efficiency or onshore renewables initiatives. 
The  GIB  is  in  charge  of  attracting  private  investment  in 
the  green  economy  and  demonstrating  that  such 
investment  makes  sound  commercial  sense.  To  secure 
investment  and 
funding,  projects  must  meet  GIB’s 
sustainability criteria. 

In  addition,  approaches  on  regional  level  exist.  The 
London  Waste  and  Recycling  Board  published  the 
‘Towards a Circular Economy’ report6, an introduction to 
London’s  route  map  to  a  circular  economy,  on  9 
December 2015. 

the 

circular 

economy, 

Regarding 
Scottish 
Government  has  published  its  first  circular  economy 
strategy  “Making  Things  Last”  in  February  2016,  as  well 
as  a  GBP  70  million  investment  for  a  new  strategy  for 
manufacturing “A Manufacturing Future for Scotland”7. 

the 

Another  good  practice  example  is  the  UK’s  National 
Industrial Symbiosis Programme8 (NISP) which was rolled 
out 
in  2005  as  a  free  businesses  opportunity  and 
networking  programme.  It  is  a  business  opportunity 
programme  that  develops  mutually  profitable 
links 
between  traditionally  separate  companies  from  all 
industrial  sectors  and  of  all  sizes  so  that  previously 
unused  or  discarded  resources  such  as  energy,  water 
and/or  materials  from  one  company  can  be  recovered, 
reprocessed  and  re-used  by  other  companies  in  the 
industrial member network.  

The UK government, the devolved administrations (Wales 
and  Northern  Ireland)  and  other  backers  are  funding 
WRAP9 to deliver practical solutions to improve resource 
efficiency  and  reduce  waste.  WRAP’s  aims  are  to  re-
invent  the  design  and  production  of  products;  re-define 
the  possibilities  of  re-use  and  recycling  and  rethink  how 
products  are  used  and 
is 
concentrated  on  three  priority  sectors;  food  and  drink, 
clothing and textiles; and electricals and electronics, with 
collaborative  action  being  delivered  through  voluntary 
is  the  Scottish 
agreements.  Zero  Waste  Scotland 

consumed.  Activity 

6 London Waste & Recycling Board, 2015. Towards a Circular Economy 
7 Scottish Government, 2016. Manufacturing Plan to boost industry. 
8 National Industrial Symbiosis Programme, 2016.  
9 WRAP programme, 2016. Resource Revolution : Creating the Future 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Government’s  delivery  body  and  supports  businesses, 
the  public  sector  and  consumers  in  Scotland  on  waste 
and resource efficiency.  

The UK itself estimates that the core waste sector alone 
supported 103,000 jobs in 201310. 

The UK is among the best performing member states as 
regards resource efficiency (how efficiently the economy 
uses  material  resources  to  produce  wealth),  having  a 
stable increase since 2004 with 3.44 EUR/kg (EU average 
is  2.0) 
in  Figure  1.  Resource 
productivity11 is higher in countries with high income and 
in economies with larger service sectors. 
Figure 1: Resource productivity 2003-1512 

in  2015  as  shown 

SMEs and Resource efficiency 

In general, the UK proposes a wide range of measures to 
support  Small  and  Medium-sized  enterprises  (SMEs)  in 
improving its resource efficiency, ranging from voluntary 
measures  to  regulatory  measures.  An  analysis13 shows 
that UK offers nine out of ten support activities assessed 
in  the  study  and  belongs  to  the  ten  best  performing 
member states. 

Two  measures  could  be  mentioned  as  successful 
examples:  In  the  UK,  the  most  prominent  example  for 
incentivising  audits  is  ENWORKS 14,  work  on  resource 
efficiency assessments in businesses. ENWORKS resource 
efficiency  assessments  aim 
the 
competitiveness  and  productivity  of  companies  in  North 
West  England  by 
to 
reducing 
environmental  risk  and  (ii)  reduce  CO2  emissions,  water 
and material usage and divert waste from landfill. These 
goals  are  to  be  achieved  through  directly  working  with 
companies,  including  the  supply  of  resource  efficiency 

their  exposure 

improve 

to 

(i) 

United Kingdom  6 

assessments,  and  targeted  information.  Launched  in 
2001,  the  measure  targets  all  interested  companies, 
although  support  was  prioritised  to  areas  thought  to 
have  the  greatest  effect.  From  2007  to  2010,  3,655 
businesses  were  assisted,  leading  to  annual  cost  savings 
of  GBP 77 million,  material  savings  of  almost  200,000 
tonnes and an increase in sales by GBP 35 million. 

The  Resource  Efficient  Scotland  Programme  funded  by 
the Scottish Government, offers free advice and support 
to  businesses  to 
implement  energy  and  resource 
efficiency  measures  that  translate  to  cost  savings, 
increasing their economic competitiveness. From 2013 to 
2015 the programme has provided advice to over 10,000 
businesses  and  generated  estimated  lifetime  energy 
savings  of  2,300  GWh,  carbon  savings  of  900,000  tCO2 
and cost savings of £180 million. 

In  the  Flash  426  Eurobarometer  "SMEs,  resource 
efficiency  and  green  markets"  it  is  shown  that  47%  of 
UK's  SMEs  have  invested  up  to  5%  of  their  annual 
turnover 
in  their  resource  efficiency  actions  (EU28 
average  50%),  26%  of  them  are  currently  offering  green 
products  and  services  (EU28  average  26%),  72%  took 
measures  to  save  energy  (EU28  average  59%),  91%  to 
minimise  waste  (EU28  average 60%), 57% to  save  water 
(EU28  average  44%),  and  64%  to  save  materials  (EU28 
average 54%). From a circular economy perspective, 74% 
took  measures  to  recycle  by  reusing  material  or  waste 
within  the company (EU28 average  40%),  26% to  design 
products  that  are  easier  to  maintain,  repair  or  reuse 
(EU28 average 22%) and 35% were able to sell their scrap 
material to another company (EU28 average 25%). 

Using  the  full  potential  of  resource  efficiency  measures, 
the cost savings are huge: for only four SME sectors (food 
&  beverages;  energy,  power  &  utilities;  environmental 
technologies;  construction)  the  savings  that  would 
strengthen  their  competitiveness  could  already  amount 
to around EUR 6.7 billion.  

About  60,000  new  jobs  could  be  created  and  about 
173,000  jobs  could  be  secured  if  all  SMEs  in  the  four 
sectors  would  fully  use  their  potential  for  resource 
efficiency 15 .  The  Flash  426  Eurobarometer  "SMEs, 
resource  efficiency  and  green  markets"  shows  that  27% 
of  the  SMEs  in  the  UK  have  one  or  more  full  time 
employee  working  in  a  green  job  at  least  some  of  the 
time (EU28 average 35%). The UK has an average number 
of 2.0 full time green employees per SME (EU28 average 
1.1%)16. 

10 UK Government, 2015. DEFRA Resource Management: a catalyst for 

growth and productivity 

11 Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 

product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC) 

12 Eurostat, Resource productivity, accessed October 2016 
13 Ecologic, IEEP, Bio by deloitte, 2015. A framework for Member States 
to support business in improving its resource efficiency, Study for the 
European Commission, p. 59 

14 ENWORKS: http://www.enworks.com/ 

15 RPA, 2015. Assessing the Potential Cost Savings and Resource Savings 
of Investments in 4 SME sectors, study for European Commission 
16 The Flash 426 Eurobarometer "SMEs, resource efficiency and green 

markets" defines "green job" as a job that directly deals with 
information, technologies, or materials that preserves or restores 
environmental quality. This requires specialised skills, knowledge, 
training, or experience (e.g. verifying compliance with environmental 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Eco-Innovation 

In 2015, the UK performed slightly above the EU average 
in terms of eco-innovation performance according to the 
EIO Scoreboard, with an overall score of 106 compared to 
an EU  average  of 100.  However,  this represents a  fall  in 
the ranking compared to 2013 where the UK achieved a 
score  of  122.  The  UK  went  from  the  5th  to  the  11th 
position  and  is  approximately  back  to  its  2012  level, 
when it achieved an average score of 10017. 
Figure 2: Eco-Innovation Index 2015 (EU=100)18 

United Kingdom  7 

focussing in particular on ultra-low emission vehicles and 
5) Clean and carbon abatement technologies. 

National  efforts  to  further  embrace  eco-innovation  are 
also  reinforced  by  an  ambitious 
international  and 
European context promoting collaboration, transparency 
and  long-term,  wise  investment.  Mission  Innovation  is 
looking  to  accelerate  global  clean  energy  innovation  to 
make  it  more  widely  affordable  for  climate  challenge, 
affordable  and  reliable  energy,  economic  growth  and 
energy 
clean  energy 
technologies  require  very  large  amounts  of  money  to 
bring down costs, to make them affordable and scalable, 
private sector investment, such as from the Breakthrough 
Energy  Coalition  which  was  launched  alongside  Mission 
Innovation, will be key to helping them develop. 

security.  Considering 

that 

Waste management  

Turning waste into a resource requires: 
 

implementation  of  Union  waste 

Full 
legislation, 
which  includes  the  waste  hierarchy;  the  need  to 
ensure  separate  collection  of  waste;  the  landfill 
diversion targets etc. 

  Reducing  per  capita  waste  generation  and  waste 

 

generation in absolute terms. 
Limiting energy recovery to non-recyclable materials 
and  phasing  out 
recyclable  or 
recoverable waste. 

landfilling  of 

SDG  12  invites  countries  to  substantially  reduce  waste 
generation  through  prevention,  reduction,  recycling  and 
reuse, by 2030. 

The EU's approach to waste management is based on the 
"waste  hierarchy"  which  sets  out  an  order  of  priority 
when  shaping  waste  policy  and  managing  waste  at  the 
operational 
level:  prevention,  (preparing  for)  reuse, 
recycling,  recovery  and,  as  the  least  preferred  option, 
incineration 
includes 
disposal  (which 
without energy recovery). 

landfilling  and 

The  progress  towards  reaching  recycling  targets and  the 
adoption  of  adequate  WMP/WPP19 should  be  the  key 
items  to  measure  the  performance  of  Member  States. 
This section focuses on management of municipal waste 
for which EU law sets mandatory recycling targets. 

Over  the  last  years,  statistics  show a  continuous  decline 
in  municipal  waste20 generation  in  the  UK  (Figure  3).  In 
2014, the amount of waste generated remains the same 
as  2013  and  it  is  slightly  above  the  EU  average  (482 
kg/y/inhabitant  compared  to  475kg/y/inhabitant). Figure 
3 depicts the municipal waste by treatment in the UK in 
terms  of  kg  per  capita,  which  shows  an  increase  in 

This dynamism is underlined by the existence of multiple 
organisations  fostering  systemic  eco-innovation  and  a 
more circular economy, through the delivery of financial 
to 
support,  advice  and  networking  opportunities 
innovative SMEs and public bodies at the regional and at 
the national level. Such organisations include Waste and 
Resources  Action  Programme  (WRAP),  Innovate  UK,  the 
Knowledge  Transfer  Network  (KTN)  and  the  Catapult 
Centres. 

In 2014 and 2015, particularly dynamic areas in terms of 
eco-innovation  and  the  circular  economy  included:  1) 
Remanufacturing  and  new  business  models,  2)  Waste 
management and recycling, 3) Sustainable use of natural 
resources and critical materials, 4) Low carbon transport, 

legislation, monitoring resource efficiency within the company, 
promoting and selling green products and services). 
17 Eco-Innovation Observatory, 2015: Eco-Innovation in UK 
18 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2015 

19 Waste Management Plans/Waste Prevention Programmes 
20 Municipal waste consists of waste collected by or on behalf of 

municipal authorities, or directly by the private sector (business or 
private non-profit institutions) not on behalf of municipalities (2014) 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
 
                                                                                                 
                                                            
incineration and a decrease in landfilling. 

landfill diversion targets24.  

United Kingdom  8 

Figure  3:  Municipal  waste  by  treatment  in  the  United 
Kingdom 2007-1421 

in 

incineration  (energy  recovery)  or 

However, additional initiatives would be needed in order 
to  limit  landfilling  to  10%  of  residual  waste  by  2030  (a 
target proposed by the Commission in 2015). Any future 
in 
investments 
mechanical  biological  treatment  (MBT)  plants  based  on 
mixed  waste  should  be  planned  so  that  they  do  not 
hinder UK from meeting the 50% recycling target in 2020, 
and possible future recycling targets as proposed by the 
Commission. 

Recycling  accounts  for  45%  (incl.  composting  which 
accounts  for  17%)  showing  that  the  UK  is  on  track  to 
meet  the  50%  recycling  target  by  2020,  as  depicted  in 
Figure 422. 
Figure 4: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2007-1423 

A  landfill  tax  is  in  place  in  UK  and  this  has  begun  to 
produce  clear  impacts  on  reducing  landfilling.  Limited 
extended  producer  responsibility  (EPR)  (few  waste 
streams  covered)  or  equivalent  system  are  in  place  and 
are  unable  to  cover  the  full  costs  of  separate  collection 
and recycling of the main waste streams. 

Full  implementation  of  the  existing  legislation  could 
create more than 63,900 jobs in the UK and increase the 
annual  turnover  of  the  waste  sector  by  over  EUR  6,700 
million.  Moving  towards  the  targets  of  the  Roadmap  on 
resource  efficiency,  which  outlines  how  Europe's 
economy  can  be  transformed  into  a  sustainable  one  by 
2050,  could  create  over  84,200  additional  jobs  and 
increase the annual turnover of the waste sector by over 
EUR 8,840 million25. 

Suggested action 

  Phase  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  and  recoverable 
waste.  Use  revenues  from  economic  instruments  to 
support 
the  separate  collection  and  alternative 
infrastructure. 

  Introduce  new  economic  instruments  (e.g.  PAYT)  to 
implement  further  the  waste  hierarchy,  i.e.  promote 
recycling  more 
prevention,  make 
economically  attractive,  and  shift 
reusable  and 
recyclable waste away from incineration. 

reuse 

and 

  Improve  the  performance  of  the  extended  producer 
responsibility  (EPR  schemes)  covering  the  main  waste 
streams to ensure appropriate and sustainable funding 
of separate collection, sorting/recycling. 

The UK has also met the packaging waste recycling target 
(61%).  The  landfill  rate  is  the  same  as  the  EU  average 
(28%).  UK  complied  with  both  the  2006  and  the  2009 

21 Eurostat, Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment 

method, accessed October 2016 

22 Member States may choose a different method than the one used by 
ESTAT (and referred to in this report) to calculate their recycling rates 
and track compliance with the 2020 target of 50% recycling of 
municipal waste. 

23 Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste, accessed October 2016 

24 UK secured four year derogation from the landfill directive targets, 

meaning that the target years are 2010, 2013 and 2016. 

25 Bio Intelligence service, 2011. Implementing EU Waste legislation for 
Green Growth, study for European Commission. The breakdown per 
country on job creation was made by the consultant on Commission 
demand but was not included in the published document.   

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
                                                            
2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

United Kingdom  9 

Nature and Biodiversity  

The  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
biodiversity  in  the  EU  by  2020,  restore  ecosystems  and 
their services in so far as feasible, and step up efforts to 
avert  global  biodiversity  loss.  The  EU  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives  aim  at  achieving  favourable  conservation 
status of protected species and habitats. 

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use the oceans, seas and marine resources, while SDG 15 
requires  countries  to  protect,  restore  and  promote  the 
sustainable  use  of  terrestrial  ecosystems,  sustainably 
manage  forests,  combat  desertification,  and  halt  and 
reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. 

The  1992  EU  Habitats  Directive  and  the  1979  Birds 
Directive are the cornerstone of the European legislation 
aimed  at  the  conservation  of  the  EU's  wildlife.  Natura 
2000, the largest coordinated network of protected areas 
in  the  world,  is  the  key  instrument  to  achieve  and 
implement the Directives' objectives to ensure the  long-
term  protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe's 
most  valuable  and  threatened  species  and  habitats  and 
the ecosystems they underpin. 

The  adequate  designation  of  protected  sites  as  Special 
Ares  of  Conservation  (SAC)  under  the  Habitats  Directive 
and  as  Special  Protection  Areas  (SPA)  under  the  Birds 
Directive 
is  a  key  milestone  towards  meeting  the 
objectives  of  the  Directives.  The  results  of  Habitats 
Directive Article 17 and Birds Directive Article 12 reports 
and  the  progress  towards  adequate  Sites  of  Community 
Importance (SCI)-SPA and SAC designation26 both in land 
and  at  sea,  should  be  the  key  items  to  measure  the 
performance of Member States. 

The  UK  has  designated  272  SPAs  under  the  Birds 
Directive  and  654  sites  under  the  Habitats  Directive.  By 
early  2016,  8.53%  of  the  national  land  area  of  UK  was 
covered by Natura 2000 (EU average 18.1 %), with Birds 
Directive  SPAs  covering  6.54%  (EU  average  12.3  %)  and 
Habitats  Directive  SCIs  covering  5.35%  (EU  average  13.8 
%).  The  UK  has  the  second  lowest  percentage  of  land 
designated under Natura 2000 in the EU (Denmark is the 
lowest at 8.34%).  

The  Commission  has  consistently  emphasised  the  need 
for  the  UK  to  do  more  for  species  and  habitats  outside 
this limited terrestrial network.  

26 Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) are designated pursuant to the 
Habitats Directive whereas Special Areas of Protection (SPAs) are 
designated pursuant to the Birds Directive; figures of coverage do 
not add up due to the fact that some SCIs and SPAs overlap. Special 
Areas of Conservation (SACs) means a SCI designated by the Member 
States. 

Furthermore, designations are not equally spread all over 
the  UK,  there  are  significant  differences  as  regards  the 
percentage of designated land between the various parts 
of  the  UK  (see  table  below).  The  pattern  of  terrestrial 
designation is variable across the constituent parts of the 
UK: 

Rounded 
figures 
England 
Wales 
Scotland 
Northern 
Ireland 

Natura 2000  
 (terrestrial) 
5% 
7% 
15% 

SCI/SAC 
(terrestrial) 
4% 
6% 
7.7% 

SPA 
(terrestrial) 
3,7% 
4% 
12% 

8% 

2.6% 

6% 

UK  has  vast  marine  areas  and  the  marine  designation 
process, even if slow, is moving in the right direction.  

Figure 5:  Sufficiency  assessment of  SCI  networks  in  the 
United Kingdom based on the situation until December 
2013 (%)27  

The  marine  network  is  still  not  complete28 (see  Figure 
529.): for example, sites for harbour porpoise are in spite 

27 European Commission internal assessment. 
28 For each Member State, the Commission assesses whether the 
species and habitat types on Annexes I and II of the Habitats 
Directive, are sufficiently represented by the sites designated to 
date. This is expressed as a percentage of species and habitats for 
which further areas need to be designated in order to complete the 
network in that country. The current data, which were assessed in 
2014-2015, reflect the situation up until December 2013. 

29 The percentages in Figure 5 refer to percentages of the total number 
of assessments (one assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a 
given biographical region with the Member State); if a habitat type or 
a species occurs in more than 1 Biogeographic region within a given 
Member State, there will be as many individual assessments as there 
are Biogeographic regions with an occurrence of that species or 
habitat in this Member State. 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
of efforts undertaken by the UK still incomplete and this 
is why the Commission has recently brought the harbour 
porpoise case to the European Court of Justice. There are 
other  examples  and  further  work  is  needed  for  several 
habitats,  species  and  birds  in  the  marine  environment, 
but these are actively being addressed. 

The UK has designated all terrestrial sites as Special Areas 
of  Conservation  (SACs).  Many  SACs  in  Scotland  and 
England  have  only  high  level  conservation  objectives. 
There  is  a  programme  of  work  in  place  in  England  to 
develop  detailed  objectives  where  necessary  to  inform 
the  conservation  measures.  As  regards  conservation 
measures,  these  seem  to  be  largely  in  place  as  regards 
maintenance  of  sites,  but  less  advanced  as  regards 
needed  restoration  measures,  even  though  there  are  a 
range of successful LIFE-projects dealing with restoration 
of habitats and species. In general, more transparency is 
needed (where, what, what for, etc.) as better access to 
this  type  of  information  across  the  UK  would  benefit 
implementation and public awareness30. 

Continuous  degradation  of  biodiversity  is  an  ongoing 
trend  in  UK  as  in  large  parts  of  the  EU.  Data  from  the 
‘State  of  Nature  in  the  EU’  report,  that  is  based  on 
Member  State  reporting  under  the  nature  directives 
show  that  not  only  the  conservation  status 31  of  a 
substantial part of protected features is unfavourable, in 
particular  for  habitats  but  also  that  there  are  many 
negative 
the  unfavourable 
trends  ongoing  among 
and  hydrological 
features.  Agriculture,  pollution 
modifications are amongst the highest ranking threats to 
biodiversity.  

The  UK  has  all  in  all  101  species  and  83  habitats  of 
community interest. According to the latest report on the 
conservation  status  of  habitats  and  species  covered  by 
the  Habitats  Directive 32 ,  7%  of 
the  habitats' 
biogeographic  assessments  were  favourable  in  2013 
(EU27:  16%).  Furthermore,  18%  are  considered  to  be 
unfavourable–inadequate  (EU27:  47%)  and  71%  are 
unfavourable – bad (EU27: 30%). As for the species, 43% 
of the assessments were favourable in 2013 (EU27: 23%) 
24%  at  unfavourable-inadequate  (EU27:  42%)  and  17% 
unfavourable-bad status (EU27: 18%). This is depicted in 
Figure  633.  This  situation  points  to  a  severe  need  for 

30 An interesting initiative in this direction has been taken by the IPENS 
project which shows the objectives actions that are needed are 
linked and that these are publicly available. 

31 Conservation status is assessed using a standard methodology as 

being either ‘favourable’, ‘unfavourable-inadequate’ and 
‘unfavourable-bad’, based on four parameters as defined in Article 1 
of the Habitats Directive. 

32 The core of the ‘Article 17’ report is the assessment of conservation 
status of the habitats and species targeted by the Habitats Directive. 
33 Please note that a direct comparison between 2007 and 2013 data is 
complicated by the fact that Bulgaria and Romania were not covered 
by the 2007 reporting cycle, that the ‘unknown’ assessments have 
strongly diminished particularly for species, and that some reported 

United Kingdom  10 

restoration work for habitats in the UK. 

Figure 6: Conservation status of habitats and species in 
the United Kingdom in 2007/2013 (%)34 

During  the  period  1970-2012,  populations  of  breeding 
farmland and woodland birds in the UK declined by 50% 
and  17%  respectively. 
In  2012  the  population  for 
breeding water and wetland birds was 16% lower than in 
1975. 

Figure  7:  Short-term  population  trend  of  breeding  and 
wintering  bird  species  in  the  United  Kingdom  in  2012 
(%)35 

changes are not genuine as they result from improved data / 
monitoring methods. 

34 These figures show the percentage of biogeographical assessments in 
each category of conservation status for habitats and species (one 
assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a given biographical 
region with the Member State), respectively.  The information is 
based on Article 17 of the Habitats Directive reporting - national 
summary of the United Kingdom 

35 Article 12 of the Birds Directive reporting - national summary of the 

United Kingdom 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
                                                            
 
 
                                                                                                 
Issues  concerning  dispersed  species  such  as  bats  and 
great  crested  newts  have  been  regularly  discussed  over 
the  last  decade  and,  while  some  issues  have  been  dealt 
with, an overall protection strategy dealing with the main 
impacts  on  these  species  is  still  lacking.  In  addition, 
structured  monitoring  data and  sufficient data  to  satisfy 
UK-criteria for the designation of sites are party missing. 

The  key  pressure  on  nature  appears  to  come  from 
agriculture  (see  reports  bases  on  Art.  17  of  the  Birds 
Directive  and  Art.  12  of  the  Natura  Directive),  possibly 
due  to  too  much  reliance  being  placed  on  voluntary 
compliance. 

The  UK  is  very  successful  client  of  the  LIFE-nature  fund 
that supports conservation and restoration projects.  

In 

the  results  of 

in  the  overseas  territories. 

The rich and unique fauna and flora in the UK's Overseas 
Territories  is  not  covered  by  Natura  2000.  Targeted 
protection  measures  and  adequate  financial  resources 
should be devoted to conserving the exceptional wealth 
of  biodiversity 
its 
conclusion  of  16  December  2015  Environment  Council 
noted 
the  preparatory  action  on 
Biodiversity  and  Ecosystem  Services  in  Territories  of 
European  Overseas  (BEST),  the  funding  available  under 
the  Commission's  Best  2.0  Programme,  and  urged  the 
Commission and the Member States to move forward on 
partnerships dedicated to mobilising resources to protect 
the  unique  ecosystems  and  the  services  they  provide  in 
the  EU  Outermost  Regions  (OR)  and  Overseas  Countries 
and Territories (OCT). 

Suggested action 

  Complete  the  Natura  2000  designation  process  in 
particular in the UK's extensive marine waters for birds, 
species  and  habitats.  Put  in  place  clearly  defined 
conservation 
necessary 
conservation  measures  for  the  sites  and  provide 
adequate  resources  for  their  implementation  in  order 
to maintain/restore species and habitats of community 
interest  to  a  favourable  conservation  status  across 
their natural range. 

objectives 

and 

the 

  Improve  knowledge  and  data  availability  to  be  in  a 
better position to implement appropriate conservation 

United Kingdom  11 

measures  but  also  allow  for  good  quality  appropriate 
assessments  in  the  case  of  plans  and  projects  which 
could have an impact on protected features.  

  Engage  in  a  sustainable  partnership  for  biodiversity 
protection  in  the  ORs  and  the  OCTs,  building  on  the 
BEST Preparatory Action and the BEST 2.0 programme. 

Estimating natural capital 

The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 calls on the Member 
States  to  map  and  asses  the  state  of  ecosystems  and 
their  services  in  their  national  territory  by  2014,  assess 
the  economic  value  of  such  services,  and  promote  the 
integration of these values into accounting and reporting 
systems at EU and national level by 2020. 

The  UK  National  Ecosystem  Assessment  (NEA)  was 
completed  in  2012.  A  follow-on  project  to  UK  NEA  to 
address  implementation  needs  was  launched  in  2014  to 
provide  new  information  on  tools  required  to  help 
decision-makers  across  all  sectors  understand  the  wider 
value of ecosystem services36. The Ecosystems Knowledge 
Network  in  the  UK  has  been  promoting  the  use  of 
ecosystem  services  and  ecosystem  approach.  This 
Network  is  providing  advice  to  a  wide  range  of  users 
including businesses, local government agencies and land 
valuation  professionals.  Activities  are  also  ongoing  in 
Scotland and Wales. The UK is quite advanced on natural 
capital accounting. A national Natural Capital Accounting 
2020 Roadmap was developed and an interim review has 
already been carried out. The Office of National Statistics 
(ONS)  has  published  natural  capital  accounts,  including 
on  land  cover,  woodlands  and  fresh  water.  Monetary 
estimates  have  also  been  carried  out  and  some  partial 
estimates  have  been  published 37 .  In  2011  Scotland 
established  a  natural  capital  asset  index  to  measure 
changes  in  the  stock  of  natural  capital,  which  became 
one of the indicators used in the Government’s National 
Performance Framework. 

Green Infrastructure  
The  EU  strategy  on  green  infrastructure38 promotes  the 
incorporation  of  green  infrastructure  into  related  plans 
and  programmes  to  help  overcome  fragmentation  of 
habitats  and  preserve  or  restore  ecological  connectivity, 
enhance  ecosystem  resilience  and  thereby  ensure  the 
continued provision of ecosystem services. 

Green  Infrastructure  provides  ecological,  economic  and 
social  benefits  through  natural  solutions.  It  helps  to 
understand the value of the benefits that nature provides 

36 Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature such as food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends. 

37 ONS website, 2016.UK Natural Capital   
38 European Union, Green Infrastructure — Enhancing Europe’s Natural 

Capital, COM/2013/0249 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
                                                            
to human society and to mobilise investments to sustain 
and enhance them. 

The contribution that nature and landscapes can make to 
health and quality of life is increasingly recognised in the 
United Kingdom, and the provision of good quality green 
space  and  associated  green  networks  is  an  important 
component of policies in all four countries of the UK. The 
Green Belt protection of green space around major cities 
is a long standing and politically important framework for 
development.  Work  to  restore  habitats  and  improve 
ecosystem  services  at  a  landscape  scale  is  proceeding 
throughout  the  UK.  For  example,  48  Local  Nature 
Partnerships  (LNPs)  were  established  around  England  to 
provide  a 
local  approach  to  managing  the  natural 
environment in a strategic and integrated way. 

Following a national competition, in 2012 GBP 7.5 million 
funding  was  awarded  to  12  new  Nature  Improvement 
Areas (NIAs) in England, generating significant additional 
investment from other sources. 

The National Planning Policy Framework provides advice 
and guidelines for planning in England and recommends 
the  development  of  green  infrastructure  and  ecological 
corridors. 

In  Scotland,  Green  Networks  and  Green  Infrastructure 
projects  aim  to  improve  the  environment  by  creating 
integrated  habitat  networks,  and  mapping  of  ecosystem 
health  will  inform  targeted  action.  National  Scottish 
guidance  on  green  infrastructure  promotes  the  key  role 
of  green 
in  creating  distinctive  and 
sustainable places. 

infrastructure 

United Kingdom  12 

and  indirect  impact  on  land  use  in  the  EU  and  globally, 
and  the  rate  of  land  take  is  on  track  with  an  aim  to 
achieve no net land take by 2050. 

SDG  15  requires  countries  to  combat  desertification, 
restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by 
desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve 
a land-degradation-neutral world by 2030. 

Soil is an important resource for life and the economy. It 
provides  key  ecosystem  services  including  the  provision 
of food, fibre and biomass for renewable energy, carbon 
sequestration,  water  purification  and  flood  regulation, 
the provision of raw and building material. Soil is a finite 
and  extremely 
increasingly 
degrading  in  the  EU.  Land  taken  by  urban  development 
and infrastructure is highly unlikely to be reverted to its 
natural  state;  it  consumes  mostly  agricultural  land  and 
increases  fragmentation  of  habitats.  Soil  protection  is 
indirectly  addressed  in  existing EU policies  in  areas  such 
as  agriculture,  water,  waste,  chemicals,  and  prevention 
of industrial pollution. 

resource  and 

fragile 

Artificial  land  cover  is  used  for  settlements,  production 
systems and infrastructure. It may itself be split between 
built-up areas (buildings) and non-built-up areas (such as 
linear transport networks and associated areas).  

The  annual  land  take  rate  (growth  of  artificial  areas)  as 
provided  by  CORINE  Land  Cover  was  0.19%  in  the  UK 
over the period 2006-12, below the EU average (0.41%). 
It  represented  3812  hectares  per  year  and  was  mainly 
driven  by  housing,  services  and  recreation  as  well  as 
mines, quarries and dump sites39. The percentage of built 
up  land  in  2009  was  3.41%,  close  to  the  EU  average 
(3.23%)40. 

The soil erosion rate in 2010 was 2.38 tonnes per ha per 
year, close to EU28 average (2.46 tonnes)41. 

There  are  still  not  EU-wide  datasets  enabling  the 
provision of benchmark indicators for soil organic matter 
decline, contaminated sites, pressures on soil biology and 
diffuse  pollution.  An  updated  inventory  and  assessment 
instruments  in  the  United 
of  soil  protection  policy 
Kingdom  and  other  EU  Member  States 
is  being 
performed by the EU Expert Group on Soil Protection. 

Figure  8  shows  the  different  land  cover  types  in  the 
United Kingdom in 2012. 

Soil protection  

The  EU  Soil  Thematic  Strategy  highlights  the  need  to 
ensure  a  sustainable  use  of  soils.  This  requires  the 
prevention  of 
the 
preservation of its functions, as well as the restoration of 
degraded  soils.  The  2011  Road  Map  for  Resource-
Efficient  Europe,  part  of  Europe  2020  Strategy  provides 
that  by  2020,  EU  policies  take  into  account  their  direct 

further  soil  degradation  and 

39 European Environment Agency Draft results of CORINE Land Cover 

(CLC) inventory 2012; mean annual land take 2006-12 as a % of 2006 
artificial land. 

40 European Environment Agency, 2016. Imperviousness and 

imperviousness change 

41 Eurostat, Soil water erosion rate, Figure 2, accessed November 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
 
                                                            
Figure 8: Land Cover types in the United Kingdom 201242 

United Kingdom  13 

programmes for the on-going assessment of their marine 
waters  by  July  2014.  The  next  element  of  their  marine 
strategy  was  to  establish  a  Programme  of  Measures, 
which  the  UK  reported  to  the  Commission  in  March 
2016 45 .  The  Commission  assesses  whether  these 
elements  constitute  an  appropriate  framework  to  meet 
the requirements of the MSFD. 

UK  marine  waters  are  part  of  the  North-East  Atlantic 
Ocean  marine  region  and  cover  two  sub-regions,  the 
Greater  North  Sea  and  the  Celtic  Seas.  The  UK  also  has 
marine waters in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of 
Gibraltar. The United Kingdom is party to the Convention 
for  the  protection  of  the  marine  environment  of  the 
North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention). The North Sea is 
one  of  the  busiest  maritime  areas  in  the  world,  with 
exploitation  of  oil  and  gas  reserves  also  occurring  in 
parallel  to  the  important  maritime  traffic.  In  addition, 
overfishing  and  bottom-trawling  constitute  potential 
threats  to  the  biodiversity  in  that  region.  Potential  risks 
to  the  biodiversity  in  the  Celtic  Seas  include,  among 
others,  overfishing  and  bottom  trawling,  fish  farming 
(estuaries) and potential pollution from fishing46. 

Marine protection 

The EU Coastal and Marine Policy and legislation require 
that by 2020 the impact of pressures on marine waters is 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status and coastal zones are managed sustainably. 

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use  the  oceans,  seas  and  marine  resources 
for 
sustainable development. 
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) 43  aims 
to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES)44 of the EU's 
marine  waters  by  2020  by  providing  an  ecosystem 
approach  to  the  management  of  human  activities  with 
impact  on  the  marine  environment.  The  Directive 
requires  Member  States  to  develop  and  implement  a 
marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and  cooperate 
with  Member  States  sharing  the  same  marine  region  or 
sub-region. 

As part of their marine strategies, Member States had to 
make  an  initial  assessment  of  their  marine  waters, 
determine  GES  and  establish  environmental  targets  by 
July  2012.  They  also  had  to  establish  monitoring 

42 European Environment Agency. Land cover 2012 and changes country 
analysis [publication forthcoming] 
43 European Union, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC 
44 The MSFD defines Good Environmental Status (GES) in Article 3 as: 
“The environmental status of marine waters where these provide 
ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, 
healthy and productive”  

considered, 

When  determining  GES,  the  United  Kingdom  has 
addressed all the MSFD descriptors and used existing EU 
requirements as well as OSPAR standards. However, the 
Commission 
their 
determination  of  GES  was  generally  high-level,  only 
qualitative  and  therefore  not  measurable. 
It  was 
therefore  too  early  to  say  whether  UK  waters  were  in 
good status as there were weaknesses in identifying what 
GES is in the first place. 

2014, 

that 

in 

a  monitoring 
The  United  Kingdom  established 
programme  of  its  marine  waters  in  2014.  However  it 
seems  that  its  monitoring  programmes  for  biodiversity, 
non-indigenous  species,  hydrographical  changes  and 
marine  litter  need  further  refinement  to  constitute  an 

45 Except for marine waters surrounding Gibraltar in the Western 

Mediterranean sea region 

46 European Environmental Agency, 2016. The North-east Atlantic 

Ocean  

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
United Kingdom  14 

appropriate  framework 47 .  In  addition,  its  monitoring 
programme  should  have  been  operational  as  of  2014. 
However, the UK reports that its monitoring programme, 
for a few descriptors, will not be fully operational before 
2018 (for marine litter and water column monitoring) or 
sometimes  even  2020  (for  seabed  habitats,  fish  and 
underwater noise monitoring). 
In  its  reports on  the  implementation  of  the  MSFD48,  the 
Commission  provided  guidance  to  assist  the  United 
Kingdom in its implementation of the MSFD. 

Marine  protected  areas  in  the  UK  cover  62894.4  square 
kilometers  of  its  marine  waters,  with  30894.4  square 
kilometers  in  its  North  Sea  waters,  31945.2  square 
kilometers 
its  Celtic  Seas  waters,  54.8  square 
kilometers  in  its  Western  Mediterranean  Sea  waters49. 
The  UK  indicated  that,  in  2016,  marine  protected  areas 
covered around 154,000 square kilometers. 

in 

Suggested action 

  Continue  work  to 

improve 

its  definition  of  GES 
the  biodiversity 
for 

  Ensure  that  all  of 

(in  particular 

definitions 
descriptors), including through regional cooperation. 
its  monitoring  programme 

is 
implemented  without  delay  and  is  appropriate  to 
monitor progress towards its GES. 

they  exist, 

  Continue to integrate existing monitoring programmes 
required under other EU legislation and to implement, 
joint  monitoring  programmes 
where 
instance  by  the 
developed  at  (sub)regional,  for 
Convention 
the  Marine 
Environment  of  the  North-East  Atlantic  (OSPAR). 
Enhance  comparability  and  consistency  of  monitoring 
methods within the country's marine region. 

the  Protection  of 

for 

  Further 

develop 

(and 
approaches 
quantifying) impacts from the main pressures in order 
to  lead  to  improved  and  more  conclusive  assessment 
results for 2018 reporting. 

assessing 

47 Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the Commission 
Report assessing Member States' monitoring programmes under the 
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (COM(2017)3 and SWD(2017)1 
final) 

48 Report from the Commission "The first phase of implementation of 
the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) - The 
European Commission's assessment and guidance" COM(2014)097  

49 2012 Data provided by the European Environmental Agency – Not 

published 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
United Kingdom  15 

3. Ensuring citizens' health and quality of life 

Air quality  

ceilings.52 

 The  EU  Clean  Air  Policy  and  legislation  require  that  air 
quality  in  the  Union  is  significantly  improved,  moving 
closer  to  the  WHO  recommended  levels.  Air  pollution 
and its impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity should be 
further reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding 
critical  loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening 
efforts  to  reach  full  compliance  with  Union  air  quality 
legislation  and  defining  strategic  targets  and  actions 
beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  suite  of  air 
legislation 50 ,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 
standards  and  objectives  for  a  number  of  air  pollutants. 
As  part  of  this,  Member  States  are  also  required  to 

Figure 9: Attainment situation for PM10, NO2 and O3 in 2014 

At  the  same  time,  air  quality  in  the  United  Kingdom 
continues  to  give  cause  for  concern.  For  the  year  2013, 
the European Environment Agency estimated that about 
37  930  premature  deaths  were  attributable  to  fine 
particulate  matter 53  concentrations,  710  to  ozone 54 
concentration  and  over  11  940  to  nitrogen  dioxide 55 
concentrations56.  This  is  due  also  to  exceedances  above 
the EU air quality standards such as shown in Figure 957.   

For 2014, exceedances above the EU air quality standards 
have been registered related to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in 
30  air  quality  zones.  The  long-term  objectives  regarding 
ozone concentrations are not being met in 32 air quality 
In  addition,  target  values  for  annual  mean 
zones. 

that  up-to-date 

ensure 
information  on  ambient 
concentrations  of  different  air  pollutants  is  routinely 
made  available  to  the  public.  In  addition,  the  National 
Emission  Ceilings  Directive  provides 
for  emission 
reductions  at  national  level  that  should  be  achieved  for 
main pollutants. 

The  emission  of  several  air  pollutants  has  decreased 
significantly  in  the  UK51.  Reductions  between  1990  and 
2014  for  sulphur  oxides  (-92%),  nitrogen  oxides  (-68%), 
ammonia  (-13%)  as  well  as  volatile  organic  compounds 
(-70%)  ensure  air  emissions  for  these  pollutants  are 
the  currently  applicable  national  emission 
within 

50 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards 
51 See EIONET Central Data Repository and Air pollutant emissions data 

viewer (NEC Directive) 

52 The current national emission ceilings apply since 2010 (Directive 
2001/81/EC); revised ceilings for 2020 and 2030 have been set by 
Directive (EU) 2016/2284 on the reduction of national emissions of 
certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and 
repealing Directive 2001/81/EC. 

53 Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. 
PM10 (PM2.5) refers to particles with a diameter of 10 (2.5) 
micrometres or less. PM is emitted from many human sources, 
including combustion. 

54 Low level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution 

and it is also a greenhouse gas. 

55 NOx is emitted during fuel combustion e.g. from industrial facilities 
and the road transport sector. NOx is a group of gases comprising 
nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 

56 European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe – 2016 
Report. (Table 10.2, please see details in this report as regards the 
underpinning methodology). 

57 Based on European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe 

– 2016 Report. (Figures 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1) 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
 
United Kingdom  16 

concentrations  have  been  exceeded  in  three  air  quality 
zones  for  nickel  and 
in  six  air  quality  zones  for 
benzo(a)pyrene58. 

The  persistent  breaches  of  air  quality  requirements  (for 
NO2),  which  have  severe  negative  effects  on  health  and 
environment,  are  being  followed  up  by  the  European 
Commission  through  infringement  procedures  covering 
all  the  Member  States  concerned,  including  the  United 
Kingdom.  The  aim  is  that  adequate  measures  are  put  in 
place  to  bring  all  zones  into  compliance.  In  addition, 
national  court  action 
is  underway  challenging  the 
adequacy  of  the  measures  currently  proposed  by  the 
United Kingdom to tackle this problem. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  health-related  external 
costs from air pollution in the United Kingdom are above 
EUR 28 billion/year (income adjusted, 2010). These direct 
economic  costs  relate  to  6  million  workdays  lost  each 
year  due  to  sickness  related  to  air  pollution,  with 
associated  costs  for  employers  of  EUR  793  million/year 
(income  adjusted,  2010),  for  healthcare  of  above  EUR 
101  million/year  (income  adjusted,  2010),  and  for 
agriculture (crop losses) of EUR 237 million/year (2010)59. 

Suggested action 

  Maintain  downward  emissions  trends  of  air  pollutants 
in order to achieve full compliance with air quality limit 
values  -  and  reduce  adverse  air  pollution  impacts  on 
health, environment and economy. 

  Reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to comply with 
currently applicable national emission ceilings60 and/or 
to 
(and  ozone 
(NO2) 
concentrations), 
inter  alia,  by  reducing  transport 
related emissions - in particular in urban areas. 

reduce  nitrogen  dioxide 

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive  provides  for  a 
common  approach  for  the  avoidance,  prevention  and 
reduction  of  harmful  effects  due  to  exposure  to 
environmental noise. 

Excessive  noise  is  one  of  the  main  causes  of  health 
issues61.  To  alleviate  this,  the  EU  acquis  sets  out  several 
including  assessing  the  exposure  to 
requirements, 

58 See The EEA/Eionet Air Quality Portal and the related Central Data 

Repository 

59 These figures are based on the Impact Assessment for the European 

Commission Integrated Clean Air Package (2013) 

60 Under the provisions of the revised National Emission Ceilings 

Directive, Member States now may apply for emission inventory 
adjustments. Pending evaluation of any adjustment application, 
Member States should keep emissions under close control with a 
view to further reductions. 

61 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 

Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark 

environmental  noise  through  noise  mapping,  ensuring 
that information on environmental noise and its effects is 
made  available  to  the  public,  and  adopting  action  plans 
with  a  view  to  preventing  and  reducing  environmental 
noise  where  necessary  and  to  preserving  the  acoustic 
environment quality where it is good. 

UK  authorities  have  fulfilled  all  their  obligations  with 
regards  to  the  Environmental  Noise  Directive62 for  the 
current reporting period. 

Water quality and management 

(including  surface  and  ground  waters) 

The  EU  water  policy  and  legislation  require  that  the 
impact  of  pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh 
waters 
is 
significantly  reduced  to  achieve,  maintain  or  enhance 
good  status  of  water  bodies,  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive; that citizens throughout the Union 
benefit from high standards for safe drinking and bathing 
water;  and  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

SDG  6  encourages  countries  to  ensure  availability  and 
sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. 

The  main  overall  objective  of  EU  water  policy  and 
legislation  is  to  ensure  access  to  good  quality  water  in 
sufficient  quantity  for  all  Europeans.  The  EU  water 
acquis63 seeks  to  ensure  good  status  of  all  water  bodies 
across Europe by addressing pollution sources (from e.g. 
agriculture, urban areas and industrial activities), physical 
and  hydrological modifications  to  water  bodies)  and  the 
management of risks of flooding.  

River  Basin  Management  Plans 
(RBMPs)  are  a 
requirement  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive  and  a 
means  of  achieving  the  protection,  improvement  and 
sustainable use of the water environment across Europe. 
This includes surface freshwaters such as lakes and rivers, 
groundwater,  estuaries  and  coastal  waters  up  to  one 
nautical mile. 

The  UK  has  provided  information  to  the  Commission 
from  its  second  generation  of  RBMPs.  However,  as  the 
Commission  has  not  yet  been  able  to  validate  this 
information  for  all  Member  States,  it  is  not  reported 
here. 

62 The Noise Directive requires Member States to prepare and publish, 
every 5 years, noise maps and noise management action plans for 
agglomerations with more than 100,000 inhabitants, and for major 
roads, railways and airports. 

63 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC); the Urban 

Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) concerning 
discharges of municipal and some industrial waste waters; the 
Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) concerning potable water 
quality; the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) concerning 
water resources management; the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) 
and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
In  its  first  generation  of  RBMPs  the  United  Kingdom 
reported  the  status  of  9080  rivers,  1119  lakes,  192 
transitional,  570  coastal  and  656  groundwater  bodies. 
Only 41% of natural surface water bodies achieve a good 
or high ecological status64 and 27% of heavily modified or 
artificial water bodies65 achieve a good or high ecological 
potential.  Only  41%  of  surface  water  bodies  (while  the 
status of 58% is unknown), 23% of heavily modified and 
artificial  water  bodies  (73%  unknown)  and  74%  of 
groundwater bodies achieve good chemical status66. 79% 
of groundwater bodies are in good quantitative status67. 

The  main  pressure  on  the  UK  surface  waters  is  diffuse 
pollution 68  that  affects  68%  of  water  bodies.  Flow 
regulation  and  morphological  alterations  affect  45% 
followed by point sources of pollution that affect 44% of 
water  bodies.  River  management  affects  negatively  30% 
of  water  bodies  and  abstraction  14%  of  water  bodies. 
There are some regional differences, e.g. diffuse sources 
of  pollution  affect  90%  of  water  bodies  in  the  Anglian 
river  basin  district  but  only  16%  in  the  Scotland  river 
basin district.  

The  UK  RBMPs  have  some  deficiencies  that  result  in 
uncertainties  about  the  status  and  effectiveness  of 
Programmes  of  Measures. 
In  particular  there  are 
weaknesses in ecological status assessment and the lack 
of  effective  measures  to  address  diffuse  pollution  from 
agriculture69. A high number of exemptions were applied. 
The  planned  measures  are  expected  to  result 
in 
improvement of ecological status of surface water bodies 
by  9%.  The  measures  should  also  bring  improvement  of 
ecological  potential  of  artificial  and  heavily  modified 
water  bodies  by  3%  and  chemical  status  by  1%.  The 
chemical  status  of  groundwater  is  expected  to  improve 
by 6% and quantitative status by 1%. 

The  UK  indicated  phosphorus  loading  from  agriculture 
needs  to  reduce  by  28-43%  to  meet  revised  phosphate 
standards in the second cycle of river basin management 
plans.  Agriculture 
is  responsible  for  50-60%  of  the 
nitrogen  in  surface  waters.  The  UK  developed  an  Excel-
based  tool,  FARM  Scale  Optimisation  of  Pollutant 
Emission  Reductions  (FARMSCOPER),  to  characterise 

64 Good ecological status is defined in the Water Framework Directive 

referring to the quality of the biological community, the hydrological 
characteristics and the chemical characteristics. 

65 Many European river basins and waters have been altered by human 
activities, such as land drainage, flood protection, and building of 
dams to create reservoirs. 

66 Good chemical status is defined in the Water Framework Directive 

referring to compliance with all the quality standards established for 
chemical substances at European level. 

67 For groundwater, a precautionary approach has been taken that 

comprises a prohibition on direct discharges to groundwater, and a 
requirement to monitor groundwater bodies. 

68 Diffuse pollution comes from widespread activities with no one 

discrete source. 

69 According to the UK authorities issues have been resolved in the 

revised RBMPs. 

United Kingdom  17 

pollutant 

emissions 

agricultural 

from 
diffuse 
representative  farm  types  and  quantify  the  expected 
impacts  of  control  options  on  those 
losses  to  the 
environment. The first catchment scale application of the 
FARMSCOPER  tool  suggested  that  technically  feasible 
pollutant reductions on the basis of the implementation 
of more mitigation options could be of the order of 47% 
for  phosphorus,  66%  for  sediment,  22%  for  nitrate  and 
16%  for  nitrous  oxide  (Zhang  et  al  2012).  The  UK  is 
currently  reviewing  the  Nitrates  Action  Programmes 
applying  to  England,  Scotland  and  Wales  and  could  use 
the  opportunity  to  strengthen  the  measures  in  their 
action  programme  to  achieve  some  of  the  pollution 
reductions 
Furthermore, 
implementation  on  the  ground  of  some  measures  (e.g. 
poor  record  keeping)  is  a  challenge.  Additionally,  some 
requirements (e.g. storage capacity) have been deferred 
until  2012  and  there  is  either  no  information  or  some 
indication  of 
the 
requirements70. 

comply  with 

challenges 

identified 

above. 

to 

high 

As  regards  drinking  water,  the  United  Kingdom  reaches 
very 
for 
microbiological,  chemical  and  indicator  parameters  laid 
down in the Drinking Water Directive71. 

compliance 

99-100% 

rates 

of 

As  shown  in  Figure  10,  in  2015  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
out  of  633  bathing  waters,  59.6  %  were  of  excellent 
quality,  27.5  %  of  good  quality  and  7.6  %  of  sufficient 
quality.  31  bathing  waters  were  of  poor  quality  or  non-
it  was  not  possible  to  assess  the 
compliant  while 
remaining  3  bathing  waters. 72  This  represents  a 
significant  decrease  of  bathing  waters  with  excellent 
quality  compared  to  2014,  which  may  be  partly  due  to 
the fact that the UK only started to use the new bathing 
water standards for the 2015 bathing water season.  

With  regard  to  the  implementation  of  the  Urban  Waste 
Water  Treatment  Directive,  the  latest  reported  data 
indicate  high  compliance  rates,  even  though  some  non-
compliances still subsist73. The UK is still in the process of 
implementing  a  Court  ruling  concerning  London  (C-
301/10, 18 October 2012) by building a tunnel under the 
Thames.  The  UK  has  also  been  struggling  with  storm 
water  overflows  issues,  which  are  progressively  being 
addressed by innovative solutions (e.g. sustainable urban 
drainage  systems).  The  Commission  is  following-up  on 

70 UK report to the Commission on the state of implementation of the 

Nitrates Directive in the United Kingdom 2007-11 

71 Commission's Synthesis Report on the Quality of Drinking Water in 
the Union examining Member States' reports for the 2011-2013 
period, foreseen under Article 13(5) of Directive 98/83/EC; 
COM(2016)666 

72 European Environment Agency, 2016. European bathing water quality 

in 2015, p. 26 

73 European Commission, Eighth Report on the Implementation Status 
and the Programmes for Implementation of the Urban Waste Water 
Directive (COM (2016)105 final) and Commission Staff Working 
Document accompanying the report (SWD(2016)45 final). 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
                                                            
                                                            
the above-mentioned issues.  
Figure 10: Bathing water quality 2012 – 201574 

The  estimated  investment  needs  (reported  by  the  UK 
under  Article  17  of  the  Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment 
Directive) to reach full compliance with the Directive are 
of EUR 882 million75. 

Flood  risk  areas  have  been  identified  and  mapped  in 
England. Over  the  last  decade  England  has  regularly 
experienced flooding incidents with significant economic 
damage costs. Approximately 1 in 6 properties in England 
are  at  risk  of  flooding  from  rivers  or  the  sea.  Between 
2002 and 2013, for the 22 floods in England, 10 floods in 
Northern  Ireland,  6  floods  in  Scotland  and  10  floods  in 
to 
Wales 
total 
floods 
EUR 23,000 million.  The  average 
extrapolated in the UK was around EUR 480 million.76.  

amounted 

cost  of 

direct 

costs 

the 

The  management  and  prevention  of  floods  is  an  area 
where  the  potentially  more  economical  nature  based 
improve  resource  efficiency  through 
solutions  could 
reducing  costs  and  delivering  multiple  benefits.  Within 
the  English  ERDF  programme  two  priorities  totalling 
EUR 179 million  include  allocations  for  climate  change 
green 
adaption, 
infrastructure;  out  of  which  EUR 70 million  (priority 
axis 5)  is  available  for  better  protection  from  floods  and 
coastal risks. 

prevention, 

floods 

and 

risk 

United Kingdom  18 

Suggested action 

  Improve water policy in line with the intervention logic 
of the Water Framework Directive in the second cycle 
of the RBMPs. 

  Scale up nitrates prevention and reduction measures to 
meet  water  quality  objectives,  enhance  control 
measures  and 
include  eutrophication  caused  by 
phosphorus when designating nitrate vulnerable zones.  

Enhancing the sustainability of cities  

The  EU  Policy  on  the  urban  environment  encourages 
implement  policies  for  sustainable  urban 
cities  to 
planning and design, including innovative approaches for 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation.  

transport  and  mobility, 

SDG11  aims  at  making  cities  and  human  settlements 
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 

Europe is a Union of cities and towns; around 75% of the 
EU  population  are  living  in  urban  areas.77 The  urban 
environment  poses  particular  challenges 
the 
environment  and  human  health,  whilst  also  providing 
opportunities and efficiency gains in the use of resources.  

for 

The  Member  States,  European  institutions,  cities  and 
stakeholders have prepared a new Urban Agenda for the 
EU  (incorporating  the  Smart  Cities  initiative)  to  tackle 
these  issues  in  a  comprehensive  way,  including  their 
connections with social and economic challenges. At the 
heart  of  this  Urban  Agenda  will  be  the  development  of 
twelve  partnerships  on  the  identified  urban  challenges, 
including air quality and housing78.  

The  European  Commission  will 
benchmark system in 201779. 

launch  a  new  EU 

The  EU  stimulates  green  cities  through  awards  and 
funding,  such  as  the  EU  Green  Capital  Award  aimed  at 
cities  with  more  than  100,000  inhabitants  and  the  EU 
Green  Leaf  initiative  aimed  at  cities  and  towns,  with 
between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants.  

A  point  of  excellence  that  is  worth  noted  is  that  Bristol 
was the winner of the European Green Capital Award in 
2015.  Having  spent  an  amount  of  EUR  500  million  for 
transport improvements and EUR 300 million for energy 
efficiency  and  renewable  energy,  Bristol  is  aiming  to 
become a European hub for low-carbon industry80. 

74 European Environment Agency, State of bathing water, 2016 
75 European Commission, Eighth Report on the Implementation Status 
and the Programmes for Implementation of the Urban Waste Water 
Directive (COM (2016)105 final) and Commission Staff Working 
Document accompanying the report (SWD(2016)45 final). 

76 Study on Economic and Social Benefits of Environmental Protection 

and Resource Efficiency Related to the European Semester. Study for 
the European Commission, Annex 1: Country fiches. 

77 European Environment Agency, Urban environment 
78 http://urbanagendaforthe.eu/ 
79 The Commission is developing an Urban Benchmarking and 

Monitoring ('UBaM') tool to be launched in 2017. Best practices 
emerge and these will be better disseminated via the app featuring 
the UBaM tool, and increasingly via e.g. EUROCITIES, ICLEI, CEMR, 
Committee of the Regions, Covenant of Mayors and others. 

80 European Commission, 2015. European Green Capital Award Bristol  

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
United Kingdom  19 

votes to be cast by the EU. 

The  United  Kingdom  has  signed  and  ratified  almost  all 
MEAs.  It  has  signed  but  not  yet  ratified  the  Helsinki 
Convention on Watercourses and Lakes. 

International agreements  

The  EU  Treaties  require  that  the  Union  policy  on  the 
environment  promotes  measures  at  the  international 
level  to  deal  with  regional  or  worldwide  environmental 
problems. 

Most  environmental  problems  have  a  transboundary 
nature  and  often  a  global  scope  and  they  can  only  be 
addressed effectively through international co-operation. 
International  environmental  agreements  concluded  by 
the Union are binding upon the institutions of the Union 
and  on  its Member  States. This  requires  the  EU and the 
Member  States  to  sign,  ratify  and  effectively  implement 
all  relevant  multilateral  environmental  agreements 
(MEAs) in a timely manner. This will also be an important 
contribution  towards  the  achievement  of  the  SDGs, 
which Member States committed to in 2015 and include 
many  commitments  contained  already  in  legally  binding 
agreements. 

The  fact  that  some  Member  States  did  not  sign  and/or 
ratify  a  number  of  MEAs  compromises  environmental 
implementation,  including  within  the  Union,  as  well  as 
in  related  negotiations  and 
the  Union’s  credibility 
international  meetings  where 
the 
participation of third countries to such agreements is an 
established  EU  policy  objective.  In  agreements  where 
voting takes place it has a direct impact on the number of 

supporting 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
United Kingdom  20 

Part II: Enabling Framework: Implementation Tools 

4. Market based instruments and investments 

potential  for  additional  revenue  from  environmental 
taxes.  Under  a  good  practice  scenario 84  these  could 
generate an additional GBP 6.44 billion (EUR 8.08 billion) 
in 2018, rising to GBP 14.37 billion (EUR 18.02 billion) in 
2030  (both  in  real  2015  terms).  This  is  equivalent  to  an 
increase  by  0.32%  and  0.54%  of  GDP  in  2018  and  2030, 
respectively85.  

Figure  11:  Environmental  tax  revenues  as  a  share  of 
total  revenues  from  taxes  and  social  contributions 
(excluding imputed social contributions) in 201486 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful 
subsidies  

The Circular Economy Action Plan encourages the use of 
financial  incentives  and  economic  instruments,  such  as 
taxation  to  ensure  that  product  prices  better  reflect 
environmental costs. The phasing out of environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  is  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  in  national  reform  programmes 
submitted by Member States. 

Taxing pollution and resource use can generate increased 
revenue  and  bring  important  social  and  environmental 
benefits. 

Expressed  as  a  proportion  of  GDP,  in  2014  the  revenue 
derived from environmental taxes by the United Kingdom 
was with 2.48% slightly above the EU28 average (2.46%), 
having  fluctuated  over  the  past  years,  but  is  currently 
similar to the share seen in 2004 (2.51%)81.  

Comparing  the  revenue  generated  by  environmental 
taxation as a percentage share of GDP against the same 
measure  for  other  Member  States,  the  United  Kingdom 
ranked  15th  in  the  EU28  for  2014.  In  the  same  year 
environmental tax revenues accounted for 7.54% of total 
revenues  from  taxes  and  social-security  contributions 
(EU28 average: 6.35%) as shown in Figure 11. 

in  2010, 

It  has  to  be  noted  that  besides  the  yearly  report  of  the 
Office  for  National  Statistics  on  environmental  taxes 
based  on  European  standards, 
the  UK 
government  committed  to  increase  the  proportion  of 
revenues  from  environmental  taxes  and  developed  to 
this end a separate definition to measure this which was 
narrower than the definition of Eurostat82. The narrower 
UK  definition  included  six  taxes:  climate  change  levy, 
aggregates levy, landfill tax, EU emissions trading system, 
carbon reduction commitment energy efficiency scheme 
and carbon price floor. 
A  2016  study 83  suggests  that  there 

is  considerable 

81 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed June 2016 
82 The narrower UK definition included six taxes: climate change levy, 
aggregates levy, landfill tax, EU emissions trading system, carbon 
reduction commitment energy efficiency scheme and carbon price 
floor. UK government's definition of environmental taxes 

83 Eunomia Research and Consulting, IEEP, Aarhus University, ENT, 

2016. Study on Assessing the Environmental Fiscal Reform Potential 
for the EU28. N.B. National governments are responsible for setting 
tax rates within the EU Single Market rules and this report is not 
suggesting concrete changes as to the level of environmental 
taxation. It merely presents the findings of the 2016 study by 

The largest additional source of revenue comes from the 

Eunomia et al on the potential benefits various environmental taxes 
could bring. It is then for the national authorities to assess this study 
and their concrete impacts in the national context. A first step in this 
respect, already done by a number of Member States, is to set up 
expert groups to assess these and make specific proposals. 

84 The good practice scenario means benchmarking to a successful 

taxation practice in another Member State. 

85 Eunomia Research and Consulting, IEEP, Aarhus University, ENT, 

2016. Study on Assessing the Environmental Fiscal Reform Potential 
for the EU28 

86 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed October 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                                                                 
 
suggested  harmonisation  of  taxes  on  transport  fuels, 
generating GBP 8.96 billion in 2030 (EUR 11.24 billion) of 
revenue generated in 2030 (real 2015 terms), equivalent 
to  0.34%  of  GDP.  The  next  largest  contribution  to 
revenue comes from the proposed water abstraction tax. 
This  accounts  for  GBP 1.17 billion  (EUR 1.46 billion)  in 
2030 (real 2015 terms), equivalent to 0.04% of GDP. 

The  UK  still  applies  reduced  VAT  rates  for  domestic  fuel 
and power as well as preferential excise duties for other 
fossil such as kerosene, what stimulates the use of fossil 
fuels. 

Green Public Procurement  

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member States to take further steps to reach the target 
of applying green procurement criteria to at least 50% of 
public tenders. 

Green  Public  Procurement  (GPP)  is  a  process  whereby 
public  authorities  seek  to  procure  goods,  services  and 
works  with  a  reduced  environmental  impact  throughout 
their  life-cycle  when  compared  to  goods,  services  and 
works  with  the  same  primary  function  that  would 
otherwise be procured.  

this  money 

foster  sustainable 

The  purchasing  power  of  public  procurement  in  the  EU 
equals to approximately 14% of GDP87. A substantial part 
of 
is  spent  on  sectors  with  high 
environmental impact such as construction or transport, 
so  GPP  can  help  to  significantly  lower  the  impact  of 
public  spending  and 
innovative 
businesses.  The  Commission  has  proposed  EU  GPP 
criteria88. 
The  UK  is  one  of  the  frontrunners  on  GPP.  In  the  UK89, 
the  Greening  Government  Commitments  set  out  the 
overall  policy  for  central  Government  on  Greening 
central 
operations 
Government  and  related  agencies.  In  addition,  a  Local 
Government  Sustainable  Procurement  Strategy  and 
strategies  for  the  Scottish  Government,  the  Welsh 
Government  and  the  government  for  Northern  Ireland 
exist.  

procurement 

including 

for 

United Kingdom  21 

and 

food 

goods, 

catering, 

Currently,  criteria  are  set  for  12  major  products  groups: 
construction,  building  products,  cleaning  products, 
electrical 
furniture, 
horticulture,  office  ICT,  paper,  textiles,  transport,  and 
water  using  products.  In  total,  they  cover  around  60 
products,  and 
- 
`mandatory minimum’ and `voluntary best practice’. The 
GPP  targets  are  embedded  in  in  departmental  and 
centralised  procurement  contracts  through  Government 
Buying Standards. 

include  criteria  sets  at  2 

levels 

According  to  a  2010  study,  the  share  of  UK  authorities 
that  included  GPP  requirements  in  between  50%  and 
100%  of  their  contracts  was  estimated  between  40  and 
50%, one of the highest values overall90. 

Investments: the contribution of EU funds  

European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  Regulations 
provide  that  Member  States  promote  environment  and 
funding  strategies  and 
climate  objectives 
territorial 
programmes 
cohesion,  rural  development  and  maritime  policy,  and 
reinforce the capacity of implementing bodies to deliver 
cost-effective and sustainable investments in these areas. 

in  their 
for  economic, 

social  and 

Making  good  use  of  the  European  Structural  and 
Investment  Funds  (ESIF) 91 is  essential  to  achieve  the 
environmental goals and integrate these into other policy 
areas.  Other  instruments  such  as  the  Horizon  2020,  the 
LIFE  programme  and  European  Fund  for  Strategic 
Investment 92 (EFSI)  may  also  support  implementation 
and spread off best practice. 

for 

ESIF 

from 

funding 

programmes, 

United  Kingdom  benefits,  through  17  national  and 
regional 
of 
the  period  2014-2020 93 . 
EUR 16.4 billion  over 
EUR 5825.6 million (35.5%) is coming from the European 
(ERDF), 
Fund 
European 
EUR 5199.7 million 
Agricultural  Fund 
(EAFRD), 
EUR 213.1 million  (1.5%)  from  the  European  Maritime 
and  Fisheries  Fund  (EMFF),  EUR 4942.6 million  (30.1%) 
from  the  European  Social  Fund  and  EUR 206.1 million 
(1.3%) is used for the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI). 

Development 
the 

for  Rural  Development 

Regional 

(31.7%) 

from 

The  Greening  Government  Commitments  apply  to  all 
Government Departments and their related agencies. It is 
a  political  and  administrative  commitment,  but  not  a 
legal  requirement.  Where  centralised  contracts  are 
developed, it is mandatory for Departments to use them.  

In  total,  EUR 2191.2 million  a  dedicated  to  the  Thematic 
objective Environment Protection and Resource efficiency 
(TO6),  EUR 1884.4 million  through  the  different  EAFRD 
the  ERDF 
programmes,  EUR 164.7 million 

through 

87 European Commission, 2015. Public procurement 
88 In the Communication “Public procurement for a better environment” 
(COM /2008/400) the Commission recommended the creation of a 
process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic concept of GPP 
relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and ambitious 
environmental criteria for products and services, based on a life-cycle 
approach and scientific evidence base. 

89 European Commission, 2015. Documentation on National GPP Action 

90 Adelphi et al., 2011. Strategic Use of Public Procurement in Europe 
91 ESIF comprises five funds – the European Regional Development 
Funds (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Social Fund 
(ESF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
(EAFRD), and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The 
ERDF, the CF and the ESF together form the Cohesion Policy funds. 

92 EIB: European Fund for Strategic Investments 
93 European Commission : European Structural and Investment Funds 

Plans  

Country Data for UK 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
                                                            
                                                            
programmes  and  EUR 142.1 million  through  the  EMFF 
programme.  In  addition,  EUR 1604.2 million  is  foreseen 
for TO4 Low Carbon Economy and EUR 1949.8 million for 
TO5  Climate  Change  Adoption  and  Risk  Prevention  (  see 
figure 12). 

With regard to the integration of environmental concerns 
into  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy  (CAP),  the  two  key 
areas for the United Kingdom (as for all Member States) 
are,  first,  using  Rural  Development  funds  to  pay  for 
other 
environmental 
land  management 
environmental  measures,  while  avoiding 
financing 
measures  which  could  damage  the  environment; and 
secondly,  ensuring  an  effective  implementation  of  the 
first pillar of the CAP with regard to cross compliance and 
1st pillar 'greening'. 

and 

Figure  12:  European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds 
2014-2020:  Budget  United  Kingdom  by  theme,  EUR 
billion94 

United Kingdom  22 

With  regard  to  the  1st  pillar  of  the  CAP,  the  UK  national 
direct  payment  envelope  is  about  EUR  3150  billion  per 
year,  of  which  the  30  %  allocated  for  greening  is  about 
EUR 950 billion/year.) 50-60% of farms and farm area are 
covered  by  the  greening.  Over  60%  of  the  EFA  is  fallow 
land,  landscape  features  (hedges)  and  buffer  strips;  the 
rest is largely nitrogen fixing crops. 

It is too early to draw meaningful conclusions as regards 
the  use  and  results  of  ESIF  funds  for  the  period  2014-
2020,  as  the  relevant  programmes  are  still  in  an  early 
stage of their implementation. 

Current data suggest that the EU funds for the 2007-2013 
period were almost sully spent95. 

investment 

The UK provides with its National infrastructure pipeline96 
an  overall  picture  of  planned 
in 
infrastructure, across both public and private sectors, to 
2020  and  beyond.  The  pipeline  includes  large  capital 
projects  and  programmes  of  investment  worth  GBP50 
million  or  more  across  communications,  energy,  flood 
defences,  science  &  research,  transport,  waste  and 
water. 

The  UK  announced  that  it  will  contribute  EUR 8.5 billion 
to  projects  benefiting  from  the  European  Funds  for 
Strategic  Investments  (EFSI)97.  The  16  approved  projects 
amount  to  over  EUR 2.8 billion  in  European  Investment 
Bank  (EIB)  financing  under  the  European  Fund  for 
Strategic  Investments  (EFSI).  This  is  expected  to  trigger 
nearly  EUR 16.8 billion  in  investments98.  Several  of  these 
projects will have favourable environmental impacts, like 
the projects Smart Meters, and the two energy efficiency 
funds and one renewable energy equity fund. 

Integrated  LIFE  Project 

(EUR 20 million) 99  will 
An 
contribute  to  the 
implementation  of  River  Basin 
Management Plans in the North West River Basin District 
in England and Wales. 

The total Rural Development (EAFRD) budget for the UK 
is  EUR  2.689  million/year,  with  73,1  %  of  budget 
allocated to Priority 4 (the main environmental priority). 
The  RDPs  for  England,  Northern  Ireland  and  Scotland 
have  commendably  high  allocations  to  environmental 
and  climate  change  measures  (79-82%),  but  for  Wales 
the focus on environment is lower (60%) and there was a 
in  effort  on  agri-environment-
substantial  reduction 
climate  measures  (19%  to  24%).  To 
improve  this 
situation, Wales would need to focus its AECM on higher 
tier measures, and incorporate the basic measures in the 
compulsory  baseline.  Overall  there  is  a  good  focus  on 
biodiversity, and the water measures are well targeted to 
achieve improvements in achieving WFD goals.  

94 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 

Data By Country 

95 Final data of the 2007-2013 period will only be available at the end 

2017. 

96 UK National Infrastructure Pipeline  
97 European Commission, 2015. Investment Plan for Europe: European 

Fund for Strategic Investments 

98 European Commission, 2016. Investment Plan - State of play  
99 LIFE Programme – integrated LIFE projects (Feb 2016) 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
5. Effective governance and knowledge 

United Kingdom  23 

SDG  16  aims  at  providing  access  to  justice  and  building 
effective,  accountable  and  inclusive  institutions  at  all 
levels. SDG 17 aims at better implementation, improving 
policy  coordination  and  policy  coherence,  stimulating 
science, 
innovation,  establishing 
partnerships and developing measurements of progress. 

technology 

and 

Effective governance of EU environmental legislation and 
policies  requires  having  an  appropriate 
institutional 
framework,  policy  coherence  and  coordination,  applying 
legal  and  non-legal  instruments,  engaging  with  non-
governmental  stakeholders,  and  having  adequate  levels 
of  knowledge  and  skills100.  Successful  implementation 
depends, to a large extent, on central, regional and local 
government  fulfilling  key  legislative  and  administrative 
tasks,  notably  adoption  of 
implementing 
legislation,  co-ordinated  action  to  meet  environmental 
objectives  and  correct  decision-making  on  matters  such 
as  industrial  permits.  Beyond  fulfilment  of  these  tasks, 
government  must 
to  ensure  day-to-day 
compliance  by  economic  operators,  utilities  and 
individuals  ("compliance  assurance").  Civil  society  also 
has  a  role  to  play,  including  through  legal  action.  To 
underpin the roles of all actors, it is crucial to collect and 
share  knowledge  and  evidence  on  the  state  of  the 
environment  and  on  environmental  pressures,  drivers 
and impacts. 

intervene 

sound 

for 

and training to carry out their own tasks and co-operate 
and  co-ordinate  effectively  with  each  other,  within  a 
system of multi-level governance. 
The transposition of the revised EIA Directive101 will be an 
opportunity  to  streamline  the  regulatory  framework  on 
environmental assessments. The Commission encourages 
the  streamlining  of  the  environmental  assessments 
because  this  approach  reduces  duplication  and  avoids 
unnecessary  overlaps 
in  environmental  assessments 
a  particular  project.  Moreover, 
applicable 
streamlining  helps  reducing  unnecessary  administrative 
burden  and  accelerates  decision-making,  without 
compromising 
the  environmental 
assessment  procedure.  The  Commission  has  issued  a 
guidance  document  in  2016  regarding  the  setting  up  of 
coordinated 
are 
simultaneously  subject  to  assessments  under  the  EIA 
Directive, Habitats Directive, Water Framework Directive, 
Industrial  Emissions  Directive 102 .  The 
and 
implementation  of  this  new  Directive 
is  also  an 
opportunity that the UK authorities should use to ensure 
that previous practices of granting development consent 
and  allowing  construction  to  go  ahead  before  all 
environmental  permitting  processes  are  completed  are 
not repeated in future.  

joint  procedures 

the  quality  of 

and/or 

that 

the 

Equally,  effective  governance  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  and  policies  benefits  from  a  dialogue  within 
Member  States  and  between  Member  States  and  the 
Commission  on  whether  the  current  EU  environmental 
legislation  is  fit  for  purpose.  Legislation  can  only  be 
properly 
into  account 
experiences  at  Member  State  level  with  putting  EU 
commitments  into  effect.  The  Make  it  Work  initiative,  a 
Member  State  driven  project,  established 
in  2014, 
organizes a discussion on how the clarity, coherence and 
structure  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  can  be 
improved without lowering existing protection standards. 

implemented  when 

it  takes 

Effective governance within central, regional 
and local government 

Those  involved  in  implementing  environment  legislation 
at  Union,  national,  regional  and  local  levels  need  to  be 
equipped  with  the  knowledge,  tools  and  capacity  to 
improve  the  delivery  of  benefits  from  that  legislation, 
and the governance of the enforcement process. 

Capacity to implement rules 

regard 

With 
to  so-called  Strategic  Environmental 
Assessment  (SEA)  Directive 103 ,  the  UK  has  generally 
transposed this Directive well. However, the Commission 
has received a number of complaints that the Directive is 
not fully applied to certain large transport infrastructure 
projects.  This  is  a  matter  that  the  UK  authorities  should 
try  to  clarify  for  future  decisions  on  developments  such 
as high speed rail expansion. The SEA Directive provides a 
key  opportunity  for  the  environmental 
impacts  of 
alternatives  to  a  proposed  project  to  be  fully  assessed 

is 

crucial 

It 
local 
central, 
administrations  have  the  necessary  capacities  and  skills 

regional  and 

that 

100 The Commission has work ongoing to improve the country-specific 
knowledge about quality and functioning of the administrative 
systems of Member States. 

101 The transposition of Directive 2014/52/EU is due in May 2017. 
102 European Commission, 2016. Guidance document on streamlining 
environmental assessments conducted under Article 2(3) of the 
Environmental Impact Assessment Directive. 

103 European Commission, Strategic Environmental  Assessment 

Directive 2001/42/EC  

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
and for the public to comment.  

in  particular 

In  general  the  UK  has  a  good  record  for  communicating 
new  implementing  legislation  on  time.  However,  a  UK 
trend, 
in  England,  of  transposing  by 
reference  is  likely  to  lead  to  increased  numbers  of  non-
conformity  cases  in  the  future.  Whilst  there  is  no 
inherent  objection  to  the  practice  of  such  transposition 
techniques,  if  the  process  is  used  in  excess  it  leaves  the 
national legislation failing to explain the full scope of the 
obligations  and  how  they  should  be  applied  by  national 
decision makers, operators and members of the public. 

There  are  currently  11  infringements  in  the  following 
areas: 

  Directive  91/271/EEC  on  Urban  Waste  Water 

Treatment (2 cases). 

  Directive  2001/80/EC  on  the  limitation  of  emissions 
large 

into  the  air 

from 

of  certain  pollutants 
combustion plants. 

  Directive  2008/50/EC  on  ambient  air  quality  and 

cleaner air for Europe.  

  Directive  85/337/EEC  on  the  assessment  of  the 
effects  of  certain  public  and  private  projects  on  the 
environment  (case  also  concerns  Natura  2000  and 
IPPC breaches).  

  Directive  92/43/EEC  on  the  conservation  of  natural 

habitats and of wild fauna and flora (3 cases).  

  Directive 

for 

providing 

2003/35/EEC 

public 
participation in respect of the drawing up of certain 
plans  and  programmes  relating  to  the  environment 
and  amending  with  regard  to  public  participation 
and  access  to  justice  Council  Directives  85/337/EEC 
and 96/61/EC.   

  Directive  2000/60/EU  establishing  a  framework  for 
Community  action  in  the  field  of  water  policy  (non-
conformity). 

  Directive  2006/21  EC  on  the  management  of  waste 

from extractive industries (non-conformity). 

In some of the environmental cases where individuals or 
NGOs have gained access before the national courts over 
the  past  years,  the  UK  judges  referred  several  requests 
for  preliminary  rulings  to  the  Court  of  Justice  of  the EU. 
This 
the 
development  of  EU  environment  law,  since  preliminary 
rulings  enable  the  Court  of  Justice  to  give  a  coherent 
interpretation of the EU law. 

represented  a  valuable  contribution 

to 

Compliance assurance 

EU  law  generally  and  specific  provisions  on  inspections, 
other  checks,  penalties  and  environmental  liability  help 
lay  the  basis  for  the  systems  Member  States  need  to 
secure  compliance  with  EU 
to 
have 
environmental rules. 

in  place 

Public  authorities  help  ensure  accountability  of  duty-

United Kingdom  24 

holders by monitoring and promoting compliance and by 
taking credible follow-up action (i.e. enforcement) when 
breaches occur or liabilities arise. Compliance monitoring 
can  be  done  both  on  the 
initiative  of  authorities 
themselves  and  in  response to  citizen complaints. It  can 
involve  using  various  kinds  of  checks, 
including 
inspections  for  permitted  activities,  surveillance  for 
possible  illegal  activities,  investigations  for  crimes  and 
audits for systemic weaknesses. Similarly, there is a range 
of  means  to  promote  compliance,  including  awareness-
raising  campaigns  and  use  of  guidance  documents  and 
online  information  tools.  Follow-up  to  breaches  and 
(e.g. 
liabilities  can 
withdrawal of a permit), use of criminal law104 and action 
law  (e.g.  required  remediation  after 
under 
damage  from  an  accident  using 
liability  rules)  and 
contractual  law  (e.g.  measures  to  require  compliance 
with  nature  conservation  contracts).  Taken  together,  all 
of these interventions represent "compliance assurance" 
as shown in Figure 13. 

include  administrative  action 

liability 

Figure 13: Environmental compliance assurance 

Best  practice  has  moved  towards  a  risk-based  approach 
at strategic and operational levels in which the best mix 
of compliance monitoring, promotion and enforcement is 
directed at the most serious problems. Best practice also 
recognises  the  need  for  coordination  and  cooperation 
between  different  authorities  to  ensure  consistency, 
avoid  duplication  of  work  and  reduce  administrative 
burden. Active participation in established pan-European 
networks  of  inspectors,  police,  prosecutors  and  judges, 
such  as  IMPEL105,  EUFJE106,  ENPE107 and  EnviCrimeNet108, 
is  a  valuable  tool  for  sharing  experience  and  good 
practices. 

Currently, there exist a number of sectoral obligations on 
inspections  and  the  EU  directive  on  environmental 

104European Union, Environmental Crime Directive 2008/99/EC 
105  European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement 

of Environmental Law 

106 European Union Forum of judges for the environment 
107 The European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment 
108 EnviCrimeNet  

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
 
                                                            
United Kingdom  25 

liability  (ELD)109 provides  a  means  of  ensuring  that  the 
"polluter-pays  principle" 
is  applied  when  there  are 
accidents  and  incidents  that  harm  the  environment. 
There 
information  giving 
insights  into  existing  strengths  and  weaknesses  in  each 
Member State.  

is  also  publically  available 

For  each  Member  State,  the  following  were  therefore 
reviewed:  use  of  risk-based  compliance  assurance; 
coordination  and  co-operation  between  authorities  and 
participation in pan-European networks; and key aspects 
of implementation of the ELD based on the Commission's 
recently  published  implementation  report  and  REFIT 
evaluation110.  

In the United Kingdom, risk-based methods and a related 
broad  mix  of  compliance  assurance  interventions  are 
evident at strategic and operational levels:  

  The UK has established good compliance promotion 
practices.  These  include  structured  dialogues  with 
the  regulated  community  and  systematic  use  of  the 
Internet-based  NetRegs  compliance  assistance  tool 
created in partnership between the Northern Ireland 
Environmental  Agency  (NIEA)  and  the  SEPA 
in 
Scotland  to  provide  free  environmental  guidance  to 
small  and  medium-sized  businesses111.  Similar  web-
based  tools  are  provided  also  by  the  Environment 
Agency in England112;  

  Risk  based  assessments  to  classify  sectors,  target 
inspection  work  and  inform  inspection  frequencies 
are  widely  used.  The  Environment  Agency  of 
England, for instance, has developed the Operational 
Risk  Appraisal  (Opra)  scheme  to  enable  a  common 
approach to regulation and to target those industries 
that pose the greatest risk to the environment113;  
  Tools, such as the Scottish Environmental Protection 
Agency  (SEPA)  Compliance  Spectrum  Model,  have 
been  developed  for  analysis  of  causes  of  non-
compliance to enable proper selection of regulatory 

109 European Union, Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/CE 
110 COM(2016)204 final and COM(2016)121 final of 14.4.2016. This 

highlighted the need for better evidence on how the directive is used 
in practice; for tools to support its implementation, such as guidance, 
training and ELD registers; and for financial security to be available in 
case events or incidents generate remediation costs. 

interventions  to  tackle  different  types  of  non-
compliant behaviour;  

  Use of audit to evaluate performance strategically114; 
  The  UK  Sentencing  Council  has  developed  guidance 
on  the  penalties  for  environmental  crimes  to  make 
the  enforcement  system  more  effective  and 
proportionate115.  

Up-to-date information is nevertheless lacking in relation 
to the following: 

 

  data  collection  arrangements  to  track  the  use  and 
effectiveness  of  different  compliance  assurance 
interventions. 
the extent to which risk-based methods are used to 
direct  compliance  assurance  in  specific  problem-
areas  highlighted  elsewhere  in  this  Country  Report, 
in particular the unfavourable conservation status of 
many habitat types and species, air quality breaches 
and  the  pressures  on  water  quality  from  diffuse 
water pollution. 

As  a  founding  member,  UK  is  one  of  the  main  driving 
forces of the IMPEL network, taking leadership for many 
individual  projects  and  contributing  to  the 
internal 
network  governance.  It  is  actively  involved  also  in  the 
work of other networks, such as ENPE, EUFJE and NEPA. 
Environmental  networks  have  also  been  established  at 
to  ensure  better  cooperation  and 
national 
instance,  a  Partnership  for  Action 
coordination:  for 
against  Wildlife  Crime  (PAW)  was  established  to  bring 
together  representatives  of  all  organisations  involved  in 
wildlife law enforcement and to set joint priorities116 and 
a  waste  crime  task  force  has  been  established  by  the 
Environmental Agency. 

level 

Together  with  The  Netherlands,  Germany  and  other 
Member  States,  the  United  Kingdom  prepared  in  the 
framework  of  the  'Make  it  Work'  project  principles  for 
drafting  provisions  on  compliance  assurance 
in  EU 
Environmental law117. 

The  United  Kingdom  is  among  the  only  nine  Member 
States  which  have  issued  national  guidelines  on  the 
legislation.  It  also 
interpretation  of  the  transposing 

111NetRegs, Environmental Guidance For Your Business in Northern 

114 See for instance the report of the National Audit Office of UK in 

Ireland and Scotland 

112 Detailed information on the Environment Agency is available here: 
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-
agency/services-information 

113 Opra currently covers installations subject to the Environmental 
Permitting Regulations (large industrial and waste management 
facilities). It is a software-supported tool designed to score operators 
on the basis of environmental hazard of a regulated facility (its 
complexity in terms of multimedia impacts, location with respect to 
urban and environmentally sensitive areas, volume of pollution 
releases) and its operator’s performance (compliance record and 
environmental management practices). Opra also helps to calculate 
administrative charges for such facilities. Source: Environment 
Agency 

relation to diffuse agricultural pollution.  

115 The recently revised sentencing guidelines have led to the English 
Environment Agency securing a number of 6 and 7 figure fines in 
quick succession. In January 2016, a privatised water company was 
fined GBP 1 million (approximately EUR 1.4 million) for water 
pollution offences.  

116 PAW includes statutory wildlife bodies, such as the conservation 

agencies, with the police and customs. It also includes non-
governmental bodies, which are important partners. The PAW 
steering group sets the overall objectives for tackling wildlife crime, 
setting priorities. A Task and Co-ordination Group oversees that 
action is taken to meet the priorities.  

117 Make it Work Principles on Drafting Provisions on Compliance 

Assurance  

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
                                                            
 
                                                            
operates  a  public  register  of  cases  falling  under  the 
Environmental  Liability  Directive,  containing  useful 
information about the application of the Directive in the 
UK.  Although  it  has  a  reasonable  number  of  cases 
regarding the EU directive on environmental liability (20 
in the period between 2007 and 2013), this number could 
be  higher 
interpreted  by  the  UK 
authorities for the 'significance of a damage' was not that 
high,  given  the  many  instances  of  damage  to  natural 
resources treated under national legislation (for example 
around 400 for damage to water on annual average). 

if  the  threshold 

Suggested action 
  Improve 

transparency  on 

the  organisation  and 
functioning  of  compliance  assurance  and  on  how 
significant risks are addressed.  

  Take  further  steps  to  ensure  an  effective  system  of 
financial  security  for  environmental  liabilities  (so  that 
operators  not  only  have  insurance  cover  available  to 
them but actually take it up). 

Public participation and access to justice 

The  Aarhus  Convention,  related  EU  legislation  on  public 
participation and environmental impact assessment, and 
the case-law of the Court of Justice require that citizens 
and  their  associations  should  be  able  to  participate  in 
decision-making  on  projects  and  plans  and  should  enjoy 
effective environmental access to justice. 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they can rely on the three "pillars" of the Convention on 
Access  to  Information,  Public  Participation  in  Decision-
making  and  Access  to  Justice  in  Environmental  Matters 
("the  Aarhus  Convention").  Public  participation  in  the 
administrative  decision  making  process  is  an  important 
element to ensure that the authority takes its decision on 
the  best  possible  basis.  The  Commission  intends  to 
examine compliance with mandatory public participation 
requirements more systematically at a later stage. 

Access  to  justice  in  environmental  matters  is  a  set  of 
guarantees  that  allows  citizens  and  their  associations  to 
challenge  acts  or  omissions  of  the  public  administration 
before  a  court. 
for  decentralised 
It 
implementation of EU environmental law. 

is  a 

tool 

For  each  Member  State,  two  crucial  elements  for 
effective  access  to  justice  have  been  systematically 
reviewed:  the  legal  standing  for  the  public,  including 
NGOs and the extent to which prohibitive costs represent 
a barrier. 

The  UK  has  a  legal  system  which  allows  for  the  pubic, 
including  environmental  NGOs,  to  take  environmental 
cases to the courts. However, the high costs for litigation 
before  the  UK  courts,  remains  one  of  the  biggest 
deterrent  in  securing  access  to  environmental  justice 

United Kingdom  26 

across  the  UK118.  The  UK’s  jurisdictions  introduced  costs 
protection  rules  for  environmental  challenges  in  2013 
and are in the process of reviewing those rules119.  

Suggested action 

  Ensure  that  the  costs  of  legal  challenges  involving  EU 
environmental law are not prohibitively expensive, and 
in line with the requirements of EU law as well as the 
Aarhus Convention.  

Access to Information, knowledge and 
evidence 

The  Aarhus  Convention  and  related  EU  legislation  on 
access  to  information  and  the  sharing  of  spatial  data 
require that the public has access to clear information on 
the environment, including on how Union environmental 
law is being implemented. 

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and business that environmental information is shared in 
an  efficient  and  effective  way.  This  covers  reporting  by 
active 
and 
businesses 
dissemination 
through 
to 
electronic means. 

and 
increasingly 

public 
the  public, 

authorities 

instruments 

create  obligations 

The  Aarhus  Convention120,  the  Access  to  Environmental 
Information  Directive 121  and  the 
INSPIRE  Directive 122 
together  create  a  legal  foundation  for  the  sharing  of 
environmental  information  between  public  authorities 
and with the public. They also represent the green part of 
the  ongoing  EU  e-Government  Action  Plan123.  The  first 
two 
to  provide 
information  to  the  public,  both  on  request  and  actively. 
The  INSPIRE  Directive  is  a  pioneering  instrument  for 
electronic  data-sharing  between  public  authorities  who 
can  vary  in  their  data-sharing  policies,  e.g.  on  whether 
access to data is for free. The INSPIRE Directive sets up a 
geoportal which indicates the level of shared spatial data 
in  each  Member  State  –  i.e.  data  related  to  specific 
locations,  such  as  air  quality  monitoring  data.  Amongst 
other  benefits 
it  facilitates  the  public  authorities' 
reporting obligations.  

For  each  Member 
accessibility  of 
State, 
environmental data (based on what the INSPIRE Directive 
envisages)  as  well  as  data-sharing  policies  ('open  data') 

the 

118 European Commission, 2012/2013 access to justice in environmental 

matters in the UK 

119 UNECE, 1998. Convention on Access to Information, Public 
Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in 
Environmental Matters 

120  
121European Union, Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to 

environmental information  

122European Union, INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC  
123 European Union, EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 - 

Accelerating the digital transformation of government COM(2016) 
179 final 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom 

 
                                                            
United Kingdom  27 

have been systematically reviewed.  

United Kingdom's performance on the implementation of 
the  INSPIRE  Directive  as  enabling  framework  to  actively 
disseminate  environmental  information  to  the  public  is 
good, but leaves room for improvement. United Kingdom 
has  indicated  in  the  3-yearly  INSPIRE  implementation 
report 124  that 
the  necessary  data-sharing  policies 
allowing  access  and  use  of  spatial  data  by  national 
administrations,  other  Member  States'  administrations 
and  EU  institutions  without  procedural  obstacles  are 
available  and 
its 
licensing  arrangements  and  the  Open  Government 
Licence, promoted for use by public bodies, is now widely 
used.  

implemented.  The  UK  simplified 

Assessments  of  monitoring  reports125 issued  by  United 
Kingdom  and  the  spatial 
information  that  United 
Kingdom  has  published  on  the  INSPIRE  geoportal 126 
indicate  that  not  all  spatial  information  needed  for  the 
evaluation and implementation of EU environmental law 
has been made available or is accessible. The larger part 
information  consists  of  the 
of  this  missing  spatial 
environmental data required to be made available under 
the  existing  reporting  and  monitoring  regulations  of  EU 
environmental law. 

Suggested action 
  Identify and document all spatial data sets required for 
the  implementation  of  environmental  law,  and  make 
the  data  and  documentation  at  least  accessible  'as  is' 
to  other  public  authorities  and  the  public  through  the 
digital services foreseen in the INSPIRE Directive. 

124 European Commission, INSPIRE reports 
125 Inspire indicator trends  
126 Inspire Resources Summary Report 

Environmental Implementation Report – United Kingdom