COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019 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 Environmental Implementation Review 2019: A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life
Date: 2019-07-31
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, United Kingdom, application of EU law, climate change policy, environmental law, environmental protection, governance, green economy, public health, quality of the environment

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 31.7.2019  SWD(2019) 118 final/2  CORRIGENDUM This document corrects document SWD(2019) 118 final of 04.04.2019 Footnote 91 modified and footnote 20 deleted The text shall read as follows: COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019     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 Environmental Implementation Review 2019: A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life   {COM(2019) 149 final} - {SWD(2019) 111 final} - {SWD(2019) 112 final} - {SWD(2019) 113 final} - {SWD(2019) 114 final} - {SWD(2019) 115 final} - {SWD(2019) 116 final} - {SWD(2019) 117 final} - {SWD(2019) 119 final} - {SWD(2019) 120 final} - {SWD(2019) 121 final} - {SWD(2019) 122 final} - {SWD(2019) 123 final} - {SWD(2019) 124 final} - {SWD(2019) 125 final} - {SWD(2019) 126 final} - {SWD(2019) 127 final} - {SWD(2019) 128 final} - {SWD(2019) 129 final} - {SWD(2019) 130 final} - {SWD(2019) 131 final} - {SWD(2019) 132 final} - {SWD(2019) 133 final} - {SWD(2019) 134 final} - {SWD(2019) 135 final} - {SWD(2019) 136 final} - {SWD(2019) 137 final} - {SWD(2019) 138 final} - {SWD(2019) 139 final}  
 
 
This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European  Commission. 
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1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 3 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS .............................................................................................................................. 4 

1. 

TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-
CARBON ECONOMY .............................................................................................................................. 4 

Measures towards a circular economy ................................................................................................. 4 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 7 
Climate change ...................................................................................................................................... 8 

2. 

PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL .................................................. 11 

Nature and biodiversity ....................................................................................................................... 11 
Maintaining and restoring ecosystems and their services .................................................................. 12 
Estimating natural capital ................................................................................................................... 13 
Invasive alien species .......................................................................................................................... 14 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 15 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 16 

3. 

ENSURING CITIZENS' HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE ........................................................................ 17 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 17 
Industrial emissions ............................................................................................................................. 18 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 19 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 20 
Chemicals ............................................................................................................................................ 22 
Making cities more sustainable ........................................................................................................... 23 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ................................................................... 25 

4. 

GREEN  TAXATION,  GREEN  PUBLIC  PROCUREMENT,  ENVIRONMENTAL  FUNDING  AND 
INVESTMENTS ..................................................................................................................................... 25 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 25 
Green public procurement .................................................................................................................. 26 
Environmental funding and investments ............................................................................................ 26 

5. 

STRENGTHENING ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ......................................................................... 31 

Information, public participation and access to justice .................................................................... 31 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 33 
Effectiveness of environmental administrations................................................................................. 35 
International agreements ................................................................................................................... 36 
Sustainable development and the implementation of the UN SDGs .................................................. 37 

2 

 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

Executive summary

UK  and  the  Environmental  Implementation  Review 
(EIR)  

In  the  2017  EIR,  the  main  challenges  identified  for  the 
United  Kingdom 
implementation  of  EU 
the 
environmental policy and law were: 

for 

 

 

 

to  improve  air  quality  in  urban  areas,  especially  by 
reducing nitrogen dioxide (NO2); 
to  tackle  water  quality,  notably  water  pollution 
caused  by  nitrate  from  agricultural  use,  but  also 
remaining  urban  waste  water  issues  such  as  storm 
water overflows; and 
to  improve  nature  protection  by  completing  the 
Natura  2000  designation  process  for  marine  sites, 
focusing  more  on  protecting  species  and  habitats 
outside  the 
limited  UK  Natura  2000  terrestrial 
network  and  developing  an  overall  protection 
strategy for dispersed species. 

Environmental policy is primarily devolved within the UK, 
with  the  devolved  administrations  (Scotland,  Northern 
Ireland  and  Wales)  responsible  for  environmental  and 
related  economic  development  measures.  The  UK 
government 
implementing 
responsible 
is 
environmental policy in England. 

for 

Since  the  2017  EIR,  the  United  Kingdom  has  not  yet 
organised  an  EIR  national dialogue  that  would  help  it  to 
address the above challenges. 

Examples of good practice  

 In  early  2018,  the  UK  government  published  a  report 
for  the  environment  in  England  entitled  ‘A  Green 
Future: Our 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment’ 
setting 
for 
out 
environmental policy. 

long-term 

priorities 

general, 

 The  UK  is  among  the  best  performing  Member  States 
on  resource  efficiency.  Only  4 %  of  British  companies 
have not taken any resource efficiency measures — the 
lowest rate in the EU-28 and only 12 % say they do not 
intend to take any further measures. 

 The  Central  Scotland  Green  Network  aims,  among 
others,  to  include  an  integrated  habitat  network  and 
improve landscape quality. It runs until 2050 and is by 
far  the  largest  green  infrastructure  project  in  Europe, 
covering  the  whole  of  Scotland’s  central  belt  and 
involving  19  local  authorities.  Several  other  large-scale 
projects contribute to this network. 

 The use of alternative fuels in new passenger cars sold 
in the UK has considerably increased over the past few 
years.  In  2016,  the  share  of  new  passenger  cars  using 
alternative fuels  was 10 times higher than in 2013 and 
the  total  number  of  new  passenger  cars  using 
alternative fuels almost quadrupled between 2011 and 
2015.  Furthermore,  the  UK  is  the  first  Member  State 
that  has  been  able  to  reduce  the  ‘diesel  differential’ 
(difference in the price of diesel versus petrol) to zero. 

In 2017, the Commission launched the TAIEX-EIR Peer-to-
Peer  (EIR  P2P)  tool  to  facilitate  peer-to-peer  learning 
between 
environmental 
authorities. 

national 

experts 

from 

Progress on meeting challenges since the 2017 EIR 

On  air  quality  in urban zones there has been no change 
to  the  compliance  situation  with  regard  to  the  high 
number  of  zones  with  exceedances  above  the  EU  air 
quality  standards  for  nitrogen  dioxide.  However,  in  36 
out of 37 zones non-compliant with nitrogen dioxide limit 
values, 
latest  data  shows  the  UK  has  made  some 
improvements. 

On water quality, diffuse pollution, notably from nitrates, 
remains an issue in parts of the UK. 

There  has  been  some  progress  on  nature  protection, 
notably  on  the  protection  of  the  harbour  porpoise. 
However,  the  protection  of  offshore  birds  is  still  a 
challenge  and  there  is  no  overall  protection  strategy  for 
dispersed species to date. 

The UK has made progress in phasing out the burning of 
blanket bogs. The planned actions to bring an end to this 
infringement are being implemented. 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

Part I: Thematic areas 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 

competitive low-carbon economy 

Measures towards a circular economy 

The  Circular  Economy  Action  Plan  emphasises  the  need 
to  move  towards  a  life-cycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
reusing  resources  as  much  as  possible  and  bringing 
residual  waste  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by 
developing  and  providing  access  to  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

Following  the  adoption  of  the  Circular  Economy  Action 
Plan in 2015 and the setting up of a related stakeholder 
platform  in  2017,  the  European  Commission  adopted  a 
new  package  of  deliverables  in  January  2018 1.  This 
included  additional  initiatives  such  as:  (i)  an  EU  strategy 
for plastics; (ii) a Communication on how to address the 
interplay  between  chemical,  product  and  waste 
legislation; (iii) a report on critical raw materials; and (iv) 
a  framework  to  monitor  progress  towards  a  circular 
economy2. 

The EU’s circular economy monitoring framework  tracks 
key  trends  and  patterns  to  understand  how  the  various 
parts  of  the  circular  economy  are  developing  and 
whether  sufficient  action  has  been  taken.  The  circular 
(secondary)  use  of  material  in  the  United  Kingdom  was 
17.2 % in 2016 (EU-28 average 11.7 %). 

In  the  2017  Special  Eurobarometer  468  on  attitudes  of 
EU  citizens  towards  the  environment,  81 %  of  British 
people  said  they  were  concerned  about  the  effects  of 
plastic  products  on  the  environment  (EU-28  average 
87 %).  85 % said they  were  worried about  the impact of 
chemicals (EU-28 average 90 %)3. 

In  2018,  the  UK  committed  through 
its  25  Year 
Environment  Plan 4 to:  make  sure  resources  are  used 
more  efficiently  and  kept  in  use  for  longer  to  minimise 
waste  and  reduce 
impacts,  by 
promoting reuse, remanufacturing and recycling; double 
resource  productivity  by  2050;  and  work  towards 
eliminating all avoidable waste by 2050 and all avoidable 
plastic  waste  by  2042.  A  commitment  was  also  made  to 

its  environmental 

1 European Commission, 2018 Circular Economy Package. 
2 COM(2018) 029. 
3 European Commission, 2017, Special 486 Eurobarometer, ‘Attitudes of 
European citizens towards the environment’. 
4 Government of the United Kingdom, A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan 
to Improve the Environment. 

publish  a  new  Resources  and  Waste  Strategy  due  to  be 
published in 2018. 

The  commitment  to  raising  resource  productivity  was 
also  stated  in  the  Government’s  overarching  Industrial 
Strategy5.  
The  2016  updated  Greening  Government  Commitment 
includes  commitments  to  increase  the  sustainability  of 
the  government  estate.  The  target  to  reduce  overall 
waste  arising  by  32 %  is  particularly  relevant  for  the 
circular economy, as is the target to increase recycling to 
59 % of all waste. 

its 
In  April  2018,  the  UK  government  announced 
intention  to  tackle  marine 
litter  and  create  more 
circularity  in  the  plastics  industry  by  taking  action  on 
some  single-use-plastics  items.  On  a  domestic  level,  this 
has included supporting the Plastics Pact, a collaborative 
industry  initiative  led  by  WRAP  and  supported  by  the 
Ellen  MacArthur  Foundation.  On  an  international  level, 
this 
includes  establishing  the  Commonwealth  Clean 
Oceans  Alliance (CCOA) and initiating the Global Plastics 
Action Partnership which helps deliver the CCOA goals, as 
well as supporting other EU and international initiatives, 
including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics 
Economy Global Commitment and the G7 Ocean Plastics 
Charter. 

In  2017,  the  London  Waste  and  Recycling  Board 
published  a  strategic  roadmap  entitled 
‘Towards  a 
Circular  Economy’6,  which  sets  out  London’s  route  to  a 
circular  economy.  Studies  commissioned  by 
local 
authorities estimate potential benefits to the city of up to 
GBP 7 billion a year by 2036. Moreover, 12 000 new jobs 
in  the  areas  of  reuse,  remanufacturing  and  materials 
innovation  should  be  created  by  2030  thanks  to  the 
roadmap’s measures. 

In  2017,  the  Welsh  government’s  economic  action  plan 
introduced  the  circular  economy  as  a  key  target  for 
investments.  In  particular,  the  action  plan  set  up  a 
GBP 6.5  million  capital  fund  for  2019-2020  to  promote 
the circular economy in the country. 

The  LIFE  REBus  project  aims  to  create  more  resource-
efficient  business  models.  After  a  trial  phase  in  the  UK 

5 Government of the United Kingdom, Industrial Strategy: building a 
Britain fit for the future  
6 London Waste & Recycling Board, 2015. Towards a Circular Economy 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

and  the  Netherlands,  more  than  62 000  tonnes  of 
materials have been saved. Scaling up the benefits could 
result in 184 million tonnes of direct material savings and 
172 million tonnes of material being diverted (for reuse, 
recycling, etc.) in the EU7. 

Companies  taking  resource  efficiency  measures  receive 
more public support than the EU average. In addition to 
that,  support  is  more  easily  available  to  companies  that 
want  to  develop  a  green  profile  with  specific  green 
products. 

The UK is among the best performing Member States on 
resource  efficiency  (how  efficiently  the  economy  uses 
material resources to produce wealth) with 3.63 EUR/kg 
in  2017  (EU  average  2.04)  (see  Figure  1).  UK’s  resource 
productivity  has 
since  2015.  Resource 
productivity8 is  higher  in  high-income  countries  and  in 
economies with larger service sectors. 
Figure 1: Resource productivity 2010-20179 

increased 

to  behave 

The number of EU Ecolabel products and EMAS-licensed 
organisations  (EMAS  is  the  European  Commission’s  Eco-
Management  and  Audit  Scheme  –  a  programme  to 
encourage  organisations 
in  a  more 
environmentally sustainable way) in a country can give a 
rough  measurement  of  the  circular  economy  transition. 
These two indicators show to what extent this transition 
is  engaging  the  private  sector  and  other  national 
stakeholders.  These  two 
indicators  also  show  the 
commitment of public authorities to policies that support 
the circular economy. As of September 2018, the UK had 
110  products  and  2620  licences  registered  in  the  EU 
Ecolabel  scheme,  out  of  a  total  of  71  707  products 
covered  by  2  167  licences  in  the  EU.10.  Moreover,  22 
organisations from the UK were registered in EMAS11. 

SMEs and resource efficiency 

British  SMEs  continue  to  perform  in  line  with  the  EU-28 
average  in  the  environmental  aspects  of  the  Small 
Business Act (see Figure 2). 

7 Wrap UK and Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, 
The REBus Project, 2017, p. 6. 
8 Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 
product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC). 
9 Eurostat, Resource productivity. 
10 European Commission, Ecolabel Facts and Figures. 
11 As of May 2018. European Commission, Eco-Management and Audit 
Scheme. 

The  latest  Eurobarometer  on  ‘SMEs,  resource  efficiency 
and green markets’12 asked companies about both recent 
resource-efficiency actions they had taken and additional 
resource-efficiency  actions  they  planned  to  take  in  the 
next  2  years.  The  Eurobarometer  then  compared  these 
responses with responses given to the same questions in 
2015. Only 4 % of British companies have not  taken any 
resource efficiency measures recently – the lowest rate in 
the EU-28. Moreover, only 12% express the intention not 
to  take  any  further  measures.  The  Eurobarometer  also 
shows that British SMEs are the most ambitious in terms 
of  minimising  waste  and  increasing  recycling  in  the 
future.  

At 22 %, the proportion of British companies that rely on 
external  support  in  their  efforts  to  be  more  resource 
efficient  is  in  line  with  the  EU  average  (EU  range  3 %-
38 %). Only 17 % and 15 %, respectively, have used public 
and  private  sources  of  finance  for  their  investment, 
compared to 24 % and 30 % in EU-28. 
Figure 2: Environmental performance of SMEs13 

12 Flash Eurobarometer 456 ‘SME, resource efficiency and green 
markets’ January 2018. The 8 dimensions were Save energy; Minimise 
waste; Save materials; Save Water; Recycle by reusing material 
internally; Design products easier to maintain, repair or reuse; Use 
renewable energy; Sell scrap materials to another company.  
13 European Commission, 2018 SBA fact sheet – UK, p.15. 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

Among British companies, 36 % find grants and subsidies 
helpful  whereas  external  consultancy  on  resource 
efficiency  is  deemed  to  be  less  useful  (12 %  vs  an  EU 
average  of  23 %)  and  30 %  do  not  consider  any  type  of 
assistance  to  be  useful  for  their  resource  efficiency 
projects. 

Although  British  companies’  ambitions  to 
in 
resource efficiency are declining, they are still very high, 
particularly  for  waste  and  recycling.  The  business  sector 
is well aware of the potential and very few companies do 
not intend to take further measures. 

invest 

The  low  appreciation  of  consulting  services  is  surprising 
for a mature market. However, business associations are 
considered as the major source of advice. Strengthening 
these  associations  to  provide  a  wider  range  of  services 
could therefore be a good next step. 

Eco-innovation 

The  UK  ranked  5th  on  the  2018  European  Innovation 
Scoreboard14.  However,  with  a  total  score  of  105  in  the 
2017 Eco-innovation Scoreboard, the UK ranked only 11th 
in the EU. 
Figure 3: 2017 Eco-innovation index (EU=100)15 

As shown in Figure 4, since 2011, the UK’s eco-innovation 
performance  has  been  just  above  the  EU  average, 
although  it  has  decreased  from  its  maximum  of  130 
points in 2013. 

The  main  drivers  for  eco-innovation  in  the  UK  are  the 
growing  market demand for eco-industry and clean-tech 
sector  products,  building  and  construction  sector  and 

information 

technology  and  changes 

in  renewable  energy.  Access  to  more 
investment 
advanced 
in 
business  models  is  encouraging  a  behavioural  change 
towards 
the  mission 
Innovation  and  Horizon  2020  programmes  provide  extra 
funding for research into disruptive technologies. 

sustainability. 

Furthermore, 

Figure 4: UK’s eco-innovation performance 

However,  there  are  a  number  of  barriers  to  eco-
innovation.  The  main  ones  are:  (i)  the  cost  of  virgin 
versus  secondary  materials;  (ii)  difficulty  in  accessing 
financing  and  capital  investment;  and  (iii)  mainstream 
accounting  and  financial  reporting  procedures,  which 
often do not favour circular business models. 

Moreover,  greater  understanding  is  needed  of  how 
consumers  can  benefit  and  in  what  areas,  and  how  to 
help  them  make 
informed  choices  when  they  buy 
products and services. Businesses often do not have the 
capacity (in terms of time and money) or capability (skills) 
to  identify  and  benefit  from  the  significant  economic 
advantages. 

Noteworthy  recent  eco-innovation  initiatives  include:  (i) 
the  clean  growth  strategy  for  further  improvements  in 
meeting  the  national  carbon  commitments;  and  (ii)  the 
long-range  industrial  strategy  to  boost  the  productivity 
and  earning  power  of  people  living  in  the  country.  The 
industrial  strategy  aims  to  reach  zero  avoidable  waste 
and  double  resource  productivity  by  2050,  for  example 
through a  25-year environment  plan and a new strategy 
for resources and waste. 

Innovate  UK  and 
the  waste  &  resources  action 
programme  (WRAP)  are  especially  active  in  encouraging 
sustainable  resource  use,  including  waste  prevention, 
reuse,  recovery  and  recycling.  These  initiatives  aim  to 
create a circular economy and help develop new markets 
for existing waste products. Examples of flagship projects 
include ‘the great recovery project’, and REALCAR 16. 

14 European Commission, European Innovation Scoreboard 2018, p. 15. 
15 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2017. 

16 European Commission, Eco-Innovation Observatory, Country profile 
2016-2017: United Kingdom. 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

Recycling accounts for 44 % of municipal waste (including 
composting  which  accounts  for  17 %),  although  the  UK 
has  been  stuck  at  this  level  for  the  past  few  years.  In 
principle, the UK is not considered at high risk of missing 
the  50 %  recycling  target  by  2020.  However  further 
efforts  are  needed  to  meet  the  202020 and  post-2020 
recycling targets21. 
Figure 6: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2010-201722 

Waste management 

Turning waste into a resource is supported by: 
legislation,  which 
implementing  EU  waste 
(i)  fully 
includes  the  waste  hierarchy,  the  need  to  ensure 
separate  collection  of  waste,  the 
landfill  diversion 
targets, etc.; 
(ii) reducing waste generation and waste generation per 
capita in absolute terms; and  
(iii)  limiting  energy  recovery  to  non-recyclable  materials 
and  phasing  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable 
waste. 

This  section  focuses  on  management  of  municipal 
waste 17  for  which  EU  law  sets  mandatory  recycling 
targets18. 

Figure  5:  Municipal  waste  by  treatment  in  the  United 
Kingdom 2010-201719 

Additional  initiatives  are  needed  to  decrease  landfilling 
further.  Any  future  investments  in  incineration  (energy 
recovery)  or  in  mechanical  biological  treatment  plants 
based  on  mixed  waste  should  be  planned  in  a  way  that 
they  do  not  prevent  the  UK  from  meeting  the  50 % 
municipal waste recycling target in 2020. 

The UK’s landfill tax has started to produce clear results 
on reducing landfilling. The tax, which is currently one of 
the  highest 
in  Europe,  has  effectively  reduced  the 
disposal  of  waste,  thus  increasing  the  recycling  of  dry 
materials  and  food  waste.  In  addition,  various  new 
national  targets  have  led  to  an  increase  in  recycling, 
especially of dry goods. 

The  UK  has  also  had  a  plastic  bag  charge  in  place,  since 
2015,  which  is  estimated  to  have  taken  15.6bn  plastic 
bags out of circulation. 

Limited  extended  producer  responsibility  (EPR)  (which 
covers a few waste streams) or equivalent systems are in 
place  but  they  cannot  cover  the  full  costs  of  separate 

below 

The UK’s performance in municipal waste generation has 
been stable in recent years, but with a marked decrease 
in  2017  (Figure  3).  That  year,  the  amount  of  waste  it 
generated  was 
(468 
kg/y/inhabitant compared to 487 kg/y/inhabitant). Figure 
5 shows the UK’s municipal waste by treatment in terms 
of kg per capita revealing an increase in incineration and 
a  decrease  in  landfilling.  Incineration  is  above  the  EU 
average  (37 %  vs  27 %  for  EU-28),  while  landfilling  is 
slightly below the average (16 % vs 24 %). 

average 

the 

EU 

17 Municipal waste consists of mixed waste and separately collected 
waste from households and from other sources, where such waste is 
similar in nature and composition to waste from households. This is 
without prejudice to the allocation of responsibilities for waste 
management between public and private sectors. 
18 See Article 11.2 of Directive 2008/98/EC. This Directive was amended 
in 2018 by Directive (EU) 2018/851, and more ambitious recycling 
targets were introduced for the period up to 2035. 
19 European Commission, Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste 
operations. 

20 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. 
21 Directive (EU) 2018/851, Directive (EU) 2018/852, Directive (EU) 
2018/850 and Directive (EU) 2018/849 amend the previous waste 
legislation and set more ambitious recycling targets for the period up to 
2035. These targets will be taken into consideration to assess progress 
in future Environmental Implementation Reports. 
22 European Commission, Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste. 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

collection and recycling of the main waste streams. 

Climate change 

The EU has committed to undertaking ambitious climate 
action internationally as well as in the EU, having ratified 
the Paris Climate Agreement on 5 October 2016. The EU 
targets are to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 
20 % by 2020 and by at least 40 % by 2030, compared to 
1990.  As  a  long-term  target,  the  EU  aims  to  reduce  its 
emissions  by  80-95 %  by  2050,  as  part  of  the  efforts 
required by developed countries as a group. Adapting to 
the adverse effects of climate change is vital to alleviate 
its  already  visible  effects  and  improve  preparedness  for 
and resilience to future impacts. 

The EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) covers all large 
greenhouse  gas  emitters  in  the  industry,  power  and 
aviation  sectors  in  the  EU.  The  EU  ETS  applies  in  all 
Member States and has a very high compliance rate. Each 
year,  installations  cover  around  99 %  of  their  emissions 
with the required number of allowances.  

For emissions not covered by the EU ETS, Member States 
have  binding  national  targets  under  the  Effort  Sharing 
legislation.  The  UK  had  lower  emissions  than  its  annual 
targets  in  each  of  the  years  2013-2017.  For  2020,  the 
UK's national target under the EU Effort Sharing Decision 
is  to  reduce  emissions  by  16  %  compared  to  2005.  For 
2030,  the  UK's  national  target  under  the  Effort  Sharing 
Regulation will be to reduce emissions by 37 % compared 
to 2005.  

Domestically,  the  Climate  Change  Act 2008 committed 
the  UK  to  a  long-term  target  to  reduce  greenhouse  gas 
emissions  by  at  least  80%  by  2050  when  compared  to 
1990 levels, through a process of setting five year caps on 
greenhouse  gas  emissions  termed  ‘carbon budgets’.  The 
Clean  Growth  Strategy,  published  in  October  2017,  sets 
out the  UK  Government’s plan  for  decarbonising  the  UK 
economy through to 2032, in order to keep it on track to 
meet  its  carbon  budgets.  Transport  represents  almost  a 
quarter of Europe's greenhouse gas emissions and is the 
main cause of air pollution in cities. Transport emissions 
in  the  United  Kingdom  increased  by  6  %  from  2013  to 
2016.  

The  F-gas  Regulation  requires  Member  States  to  run 
training and certification programmes, introduce rules for 
penalties  and  notify  these  measures  to  the  Commission 
by  2017.  The  United  Kingdom  has  notified  both 
measures.  The  United  Kingdom  also  ratified  the  Kigali 
Amendment  to  the  Montoreal  Protocol  to  reduce 
consumption of HFCs by 85% by 2035. 

The  accounting  of  GHG  emissions  and  removals  from 
forests and agriculture is governed by the Kyoto Protocol. 
Preliminary  accounting  for  2013-2016  shows  net  credits 
of,  on  average,  -1.3  Mt  CO2-eq  per  year,  which 

Waste  management  is  a  devolved  matter  in  UK,  with 
Scotland,  Wales  and  Northern  Ireland  having  separate 
policy  arrangements.  Local  Authorities  in  Wales  have 
been  set  local  statutory  recycling  targets  (reaching  70% 
for  2025)  and  in  2017/18  the  municipal  waste  recycling 
rate  in  Wales  was  63%.  In  2017/18,  71%  of  local 
authorities  in  the  UK  collected  the  5  widely  recycled 
materials  (paper,  glass,  metal,  card  and  plastic  bottles) 
plus  plastic  pots  tubs  and  trays  and  59%  collected  food 
waste to be recycled.  

2019 priority actions 

 

including 

Introduce  new  policies, 
economic 
instruments  (e.g.  pay-as-you-throw),  to  promote 
waste  prevention,  make  reuse  and  recycling  more 
economically  attractive  and  shift  reusable  and 
recyclable  waste  away 
landfilling  and 
incineration. 

from 

  Mandate  separate 

food  waste  collection  and 
introduce  minimum  service  specifications  to  cover 
the different aspects of the waste collection service. 
look  at  alternatives  to  exports  or 
Continue  to 
landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable  waste.  Use 
revenues from economic instruments to support the 
separate collection and alternative infrastructure. 
Improve  the  functioning  of  extended  producer 
responsibility  systems, 
line  with  the  general 
in 
minimum requirements on EPR23. 

 

 

23 Set out in Directive (EU) 2018/851 amending Directive 2008/98/EC. 

8 

 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

corresponds  to  1.1%  of  the  EU-28  accounted  sink  of  -
115.7 Mt CO2-eq.  

Figure  7:  Change  in  total  greenhouse  gas  emissions 
1990-2017 (1990=100%)24.  

The  EU  Strategy  on  adaptation  to  climate  change, 
adopted  in  2013,  aims  to  make  Europe  more  climate-
resilient, by promoting action by Member States, better-
informed  decision  making,  and  promoting  adaptation  in 
key vulnerable sectors. By adopting a coherent approach 
and  providing  for  improved  coordination,  it  seeks  to 
enhance the preparedness and capacity of all governance 
levels to respond to the impacts of climate change.  

Figure 9: Greenhouse gas emissions by sector (Mt. CO2-
eq.). Historical data 1990-2016. Projections 2017-203026.  

Figure  8:  Targets  and  emissions  for  the  UK  under  the 
Effort Sharing Decision and Effort Sharing Regulation25. 

The UK Climate Change Act 2008 sets the framework for 
adapting  to  climate  change.  The  Act  requires  a  climate 
change  risk  assessment  (CCRA)  every  five  years,  to  be 
followed  by  a  national  adaptation  programme  (NAP)  to 
address  the  priority  risks  identified  in  the  CCRA.  UK 
government  published  the  first  NAP  in  2013,  which 
addressed the risks identified in the first CCRA published 
in  2011.  The  second  UK  CCRA  was  published  in  January 
2017 and the second NAP was published in July 2018. The 
first  NAP  sets  out  actions  for  national  and 
local 
industry  and  some  non-governmental 
government, 
organisations.  

and 
and 

people 
industry, 

The  actions  fall  within  six  thematic  areas:  natural 
environment, 
built 
infrastructure, 
local 
and 
environment,  business 
government.  The  Climate  Change  Act  also  gives  UK 
government 
significant 
infrastructure  sectors  and  public  bodies  to  identify  the 
climate risks that affect them and report on their actions 
to  address  them  –  reporting  rounds  began  in  2009  and 
2013 and the third strategy for adaptation reporting was 
published alongside the NAP.  

require 

power 

the 

to 

24 Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2016 (EEA 
greenhouse gas data viewer). Proxy GHG emission estimates for 2017 
Approximated EU greenhouse gas inventory 2017 (European 
Environment Agency). Member States national projections, reviewed by 
the European Environment Agency. 
25 Proxy GHG emission estimates for 2017 Approximated EU greenhouse 
gas inventory 2017 (European Environment Agency). Member States 
national projections, reviewed by the European Environment Agency. 

26 Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2016 (EEA 
greenhouse gas data viewer). Proxy GHG emission estimates for 
2017Approximated EU greenhouse gas inventory 2017 (European 
Environment Agency). Member States national projections, reviewed by 
the European Environment Agency. 

9 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

The  reporting  window  will  open  in  January  2019  and 
close  in  December  2021.  Monitoring  of  overall  progress 
on  NAP  actions  and  UK’s  resilience  to  climate  change  is 
undertaken  by  the  Adaptation  Sub-Committee  of  the 
independent  UK  Climate  Change  Committee.  The  first 
progress  report  on  the  second  NAP  will  be  published  by 
the ASC in June 2019. 

The  total  revenues  from  the  auctioning  of  emission 
allowances  under  the  EU  ETS  over  the  years  2013-2017 
were  EUR  2  512  million.  The  United  Kingdom  does  not 
earmark  auctioning  revenues  for  specific  uses.  An 
amount  equalling  100  %  of  the  auctioning  revenues  has 
been reported as spent on climate and energy purposes.  

2019 priority action 

In this report, no priority actions have been included on 
climate action, as the Commission will first need to assess 
the  draft  national  energy  and  climate  plans  which  the 
Member  States  needed  to  send  by  end  of  2018.  These 
plans  should  increase  the  consistency  between  energy 
and climate policies and could therefore become a good 
example  of  how  to  link  sector-specific  policies  on  other 
interlinked  themes  such  as  agriculture-nature-water  and 
transport-air-health.  

10 

 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

land designated under Natura 2000 in the EU (Denmark is 
the lowest at 8.3 %). 

Designating  Natura  2000  sites  and  setting  conservation 
objectives and measures 

The  Commission  has  consistently  urged  the  UK  to  do 
more  for  species  and  habitats  outside  this 
limited 
terrestrial network. The UK has vast marine areas and the 
marine designation process is slowly progressing. The UK 
has  designated  all  terrestrial  sites  as  special  areas  of 
conservation  (SACs).  The  main  pressure  on  nature 
appears to come from agriculture (see the reports based 
on Article 12 of the Birds Directive and Article 17 of the 
Habitats  Directive),  possibly  because  of  too  much 
reliance on voluntary compliance. 

Nature and biodiversity 

in  the  EU  by  2020. 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
full 
biodiversity 
implementation  of  the  Birds  and  Habitats  Directives  to 
achieve  favourable  conservation  status  of  protected 
species and habitats. It also requires that the agricultural 
improve 
and  forest  sectors  help  to  maintain  and 
biodiversity. 

It  requires 

Biodiversity strategy 

their 

strategies. 

England  has 

England,  Scotland  and  Northern  Ireland  have  finished 
revising 
adopted 
‘Biodiversity  2020:  a  strategy  for  England’s  wildlife  and 
ecosystem  services’ 27  Scotland  adopted  the 
‘2020 
Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity’28 in 2013. Northern 
Ireland  published  ‘Valuing  Nature  —  A  Biodiversity 
Strategy  for  Northern  Ireland  to  2020’29 in  2015.  Wales 
published  the  Nature  Recovery  Action  Plan  for  Wales  in 
201530.  A  UK-wide  post-2010  biodiversity  framework31 
has also been developed. Furthermore, in early 2018, the 
UK  published  a  report  entitled  ‘A  Green  Future:  Our  25 
Year  Plan  to  Improve  the  Environment’32,  setting  out  a 
in  England, 
long-term  strategy  for  the  environment 
including nature and biodiversity goals.  

Setting up a coherent network of Natura 2000 sites 

On  the  basis  of  the  latest  update  on  the  assessment  of 
the  Birds  and  Habitats  directives,  the  UK’s  terrestrial 
Natura  2000  network  under  the  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives is now considered to be complete. 

The  UK  has  designated  275  Special  Protection  Areas 
(SPAs) under the Birds Directive and 660 sites under the 
Habitats  Directive.  By  early  2018,  8.6 %  of  the  national 
land  area  of  UK  was  covered  by  Natura  2000  sites  (EU 
average 18.2 %), with Birds Directive SPAs covering 6.6 % 
(EU  average  12.4 %)  and  Habitats  Directive  sites  of 
Community importance (SCIs) covering 5.4 % (EU average 
13.9 %).  The  UK  has  the  second  lowest  percentage  of 

27 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (England) 
Biodiversity 2020: a strategy for England’s wildlife and ecosystem 
services. 
28 The Scottish Government, 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity. 
29 The Department of the Environment (UK), Valuing Nature — A 
Biodiversity Strategy for Northern Ireland to 2020. 
30 Welsh Government, Nature Recovery Action Plan for Wales. 
31 Government of the United Kingdom, UK-wide post-2010 biodiversity 
framework. 
32 Government of the United Kingdom, A Green Future: Our 25 Year 
Plan to Improve the Environment. 

Progress 
restoring 
in  maintaining  or 
conservation status of species and habitats 

favourable 

Considering that Member States report every 6 years on 
the  progress  made  under  both  directives,  no  new 
information  is  available  on  the  state  of  natural  habitats 
and  species,  or  on  progress  made  in  improving  the 
conservation status of species and habitats in the United 
Kingdom, as compared to the 2017 EIR. 

Overall,  it  is  acknowledged  that  improvements  in  the 
status  of  species  and  habitats  have  recently  been 
reported in United Kingdom. 

2019 priority actions 

 

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  objectives  and  the  necessary 
the  sites.  Provide 
conservation  measures 
adequate  resources  so  that  they  may  meet  their 
objective  of  maintaining  or  restoring  species  and 

for 

11 

 
 
                                                                 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

 

 

interest 

to  a  good 

habitats  of  community 
conservation status across their natural range. 
Improve knowledge and increase data availability to 
implement  appropriate 
conservation  measures 
better  and  ensure  high  quality  assessments  of  any 
plans or projects with a possible impact on protected 
features. 
Continue  to  support  a  sustainable  partnership  for 
biodiversity  protection,  sustainable  development 
and  climate  change  adaptation  and  mitigation 
measures in the ORs and the OCTs. 

Maintaining  and  restoring  ecosystems  and 
their services 

The EU biodiversity strategy aims to maintain and restore 
including  green 
ecosystems  and  their  services  by 
infrastructure  in  spatial  planning  and  restoring  at  least 
15 %  of  degraded  ecosystems  by  2020.  The  EU  green 
infrastructure  strategy  promotes  the  incorporation  of 
green infrastructure into related plans and programmes. 

The EU has provided guidance on the further deployment 
of green and blue infrastructure in the UK33 and a country 
page  on  the  Biodiversity  Information  System  for  Europe 
(BISE)34. This information will also contribute to the final 
evaluation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. 

Green  infrastructure  provides  ecological,  economic  and 
social  benefits  by  offering  natural  solutions  that  help 
overcome  fragmentation  of  habitats,  that  preserve  or 
restore ecological connectivity and that help us adapt to 
climate  change.  Green 
improves  the 
resilience of ecosystems thereby ensuring that ecosystem 
services continue to be provided. Finally, it helps people 
understand  the  benefits  of  nature  and  it  can  help 
mobilise  the 
investments  that  will  maximise  these 
benefits.  

infrastructure 

The  term  ‘green  infrastructure’  has  different  meanings 
within the UK. Due to a narrower definition of the term, 
in  many  areas  green  infrastructure  initiatives  focus  on 
urban  green  spaces  and  growth  areas  rather  than  the 
wider environment.  

Wider  action  for  networks  of  green  or  blue  natural  and 
semi-natural  area  tend  to  be  covered  by  biodiversity, 
environment  or  marine  plans  and  strategies  in  each  of 
the  four  countries  of  the  UK.  There  is  therefore  no 
overarching or specific urban policy framework for green 
infrastructure  in  the  UK.  However,  the  2018  25-year 

environment  plan35 out  green  infrastructure  measures, 
among others, to produce national standards in this area. 

Many  environmental  policies  and  measures  contribute 
indirectly to green infrastructure goals in the UK. All four 
countries  have  a  biodiversity  strategy  or  plan  which 
includes  green 
infrastructure  activities.  Many  green 
infrastructure  measures  are  implemented  by  or  funded 
through  NGOs  or  wider  civil  society,  such  as  the  ‘Living 
Landscapes’36 initiative through which 150 landscapes are 
restoring  wildlife to the extended landscape. Similarly, a 
growing number of businesses now take ‘natural capital’ 
approaches  as  they  recognise  the  benefits  of  having 
green infrastructure in their developments and assets. 

England 

Several  cities’  strategies  recognise  the  importance  of 
green infrastructure and aim to maintain and increase it. 
London has several related initiatives, including the 2050 
London 
Infrastructure  Plan,  which  supports  green 
infrastructure,  and  the  London  Plan,  which  encourages 
the protection and maintenance of trees and the planting 
of new trees and woodlands. 

Scotland 

The Central Scotland Green Network aims, among others, 
to  have  an 
integrated  habitat  network  and  better 
landscape  quality.  It  runs  until  2050  and  is  by  far  the 
largest  green  infrastructure  project  in  Europe,  covering 
the whole of Scotland’s central belt and involving 19 local 
authorities.  Several  other  large-scale  projects  contribute 
to this network. 

Wales 

In  accordance  with  the  2016  Environment  (Wales)  Act, 
the  Welsh  Ministers  have  published  a  national  natural 
resources  policy  setting  out  the  Welsh  government’s 
resources  sustainably. 
policies 
Increasing  green  infrastructure  in  and  around  urban 
areas is one of the key aims. 

to  manage  natural 

Northern Ireland 

Ireland, 

Several  green  infrastructure  initiatives  are  under  way  in 
Northern 
the  Connswater 
for  example 
Community  Greenway 37,  a  GBP 40  million  project  in 
Belfast  to  produce  a  9km  linear  park  connecting  open 
and green spaces. 

Green  infrastructure  concepts  have  been  incorporated 
into many policy areas in the UK, mainly at the devolved 
level  of  government.  Scotland  has  been  a  leader  in 
forest  policy  and 
incorporating 

issues 

these 

into 

33 The recommendations of the green infrastructure strategy review 
report and the EU Guidance on a strategic framework for further 
supporting the deployment of EU-level green and blue infrastructure. 
34 Biodiversity Information System for Europe. 

35 Government of the United Kingdom, A Green Future: Our 25 Year 
Plan to Improve the Environment. 
36 The Wildlife Trusts: Living Landscapes. 
37 Connswater Community Greenway. 

12 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

through 

its  Forest  Habitat  Network 
management 
initiative38,  which  has  led  to  nationwide  policies.  The 
urban  green 
infrastructure  concept  has  also  been 
incorporated into spatial planning policies across the UK. 
There  have  been  a  number  of  initiatives  by  water 
companies to manage land in a way that improves water 
quality at a  low cost, while also improving the condition 
of habitats and storing carbon.  

The  Chartered  Institution  of  Water  and  Environmental 
Management  and  the  Wildfowl  and  Wetlands  Trust 
published  a  report  entitled  ‘A  Place  for  sustainable 
drainage  systems  (SuDS)’39 in  2017  to  coincide  with  a 
review of the government’s own SuDS policy. The report 
called for more promotion of sustainable urban drainage 
systems  and  green  infrastructure.  In  August  2018  the 
government  published  a  review  of  the  application  and 
effectiveness  of  planning  policy  for  SuDS  in  England40. 
Policies  regarding  transport  infrastructure  also  mention 
the role of green infrastructure. 

as 

for 

funded 

through 

constraint 

availability 

initiatives  are 

is 
projects, 

a 
particularly 

green 
Funding 
infrastructure 
funding 
timeframes  may  be  shorter  than  the  time  needed  to 
demonstrate  results.  Such 
financed 
through a mix of public funds and private initiatives. Agri-
environment  measures 
common 
agricultural  policy  (CAP)  rural  development  programmes 
are  by  far  the 
largest  source  of  funding  for  the 
management  and restoration of semi-natural habitats in 
protected  areas  and  farmland  in  the  wider  countryside. 
In  April  2018,  £10m  of  funding  for  peatland  restoration 
was  allocated  to  four  large-scale  peatland  restoration 
projects.  The  projects  will  restore  peatland  ecosystems, 
for  wildlife  and  as  a  contribution  to  mitigating  climate 
change.  The  Government  will  provide  £10m  of  funding 
for 
local  community  street  trees  and  urban  trees, 
integrating them with accessible greenspace to provide a 
healthier  environment  for  people.  This  is  in  addition  to 
providing  £50m  for  tree  planting  through  a  Woodland 
Carbon Guarantee scheme.  

The  UK  has  been  very  successful  in  being  awarded  LIFE 
nature  projects,  which  provide  a  large  part  of  green 
infrastructure funding. In Scotland, a green infrastructure 
fund is available through the 2014-2020 ERDF as part  of 
Infrastructure  Strategic 
the  GBP 37.5 million  Green 
Intervention41, led by Scottish Natural Heritage. 

Manchester  and  Glasgow  are  participating  in  the  EU 
‘EnRoute’  project42 entitled  ‘enhancing  the  resilience  of 
urban  ecosystems  through  green  infrastructure’,  which 
runs from 2017 until 2018. The project aims to introduce 
the MAES approach into local policies to help the roll out 
of green infrastructure in more cities and towns. 

Estimating natural capital 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  calls  on  Member  States  to 
map  and  assess  the  state  of  ecosystems  and  their 
services43 in their national territories by 2014, assess the 
economic  value  of  such  services  and  integrate  these 
values  into  accounting  and  reporting  systems  at  EU  and 
national level by 2020. 

The  UK  implemented  MAES  before  2016  through  the 
national  ecosystem  assessments  (NEA).  It  has  made 
progress  on  economic  valuation  and  accounting.  In  the 
follow-up to NEA,  adaptive management  principles have 
been  developed  to  guide  the  inclusion  of  ecosystem 
services  in  policy  and  decision  making44.  The  UK  NEA  is 
also part of the wider ‘living with environmental change’ 
initiative,  through  which  the  ecosystem  task  force  (ETF) 
aims to make evidence, knowledge and tools available to 
practitioners  in  a  form  that  supports  everyday  decision 
making  for  the  sustainable  management  of  natural 
resources.  The  ETF  will  examine  outputs  from  the  NEA 
(FO),  BESS 
services  and 
(biodiversity,  ecosystem 
sustainability), the ‘insect pollinators’ initiative and ESPA 
(Ecosystem services for poverty alleviation) projects with 
a  view  to  exchanging  knowledge  on  the  projects  and 
making  the  best  use  of  their  results  so  that  they  can 
advise businesses and local authorities. 

Several long-term interdisciplinary research programmes 
are  under  way  on  the benefits  of  natural  capital  and  on 
how to better promote the environment in valuation and 
decision making. 

At  the  MAES  working  group  meeting  held  in  Brussels  in 
September  2018,  it  was  shown  that  the  UK  has  made 
limited  progress  in  implementing  MAES  (see  Figure  10), 
mainly because it is already one of the best performers in 
the  EU.  This  assessment  was  made  by  the  ESMERALDA 
project45 and based on 27 implementation questions. The 
assessment is updated every six months. 

Business  and  biodiversity  platforms,  networks  and 
communities of practice are key tools for promoting and 
facilitating  natural  capital  assessments  among  business 

38 Forest Research: habitat networks. 
39 The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management 
and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Report a Place for sustainable 
drainage systems. 
40 Government of the United Kingdom, A review of the application and 
effectiveness of planning policy for sustainable drainage systems. 
41 Scottish Natural Heritage, Green Infrastructure Strategic Intervention. 

42 EU ‘EnRoute’ project, Enhancing the resilience of urban ecosystems 
through green infrastructure. 
43 Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature such as food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends. 
44 UK National Ecosystem Assessment. 
45 EU project ESMERALDA. 

13 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

and  financial  service  providers,  for  instance  via  the 
Natural  Capital  Coalition’s  protocol46.  The  assessments 
contribute  to  the  EU  biodiversity  strategy  by  helping 
private  businesses  better  understand  and  value  both 
their  impact  and  dependence  on  nature.  Biodiversity 
platforms  have  been  established  at  EU  level47 and  in  a 
number of Member States. 

Figure 10: Implementation of MAES (September 2018) 

The  University  of  Cambridge  has  set  up  the  Cambridge 
Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)48, which runs 
leaders  platform.  This  platform 
the  natural  capital 
gathers  those  companies  that  have  a  significant  impact 
and dependence on the environment and that are willing 
to  take  action  to  review,  value,  re-design  strategies,  set 
targets  and  report  on  natural  capital  use.  The  Scottish 
forum on natural capital49 brings together public, private 
and voluntary sector organisations to protect and rebuild 
Scotland’s natural capital. 

Invasive alien species 

Under  the  EU  biodiversity  strategy,  the  following  are  to 
be achieved by 2020:  
(i) invasive alien species identified;  
(ii) priority species controlled or eradicated; and  
(iii)  pathways  managed  to  prevent  new  invasive  species 
from disrupting European biodiversity.  
This  is  supported  by  the  Invasive  Alien  Species  (IAS) 
Regulation, which entered into force on 1 January 2015. 

Invasive  alien  species  (IAS)50 are  animals  and  plants  that 
are introduced accidentally or deliberately into a natural 
environment  where  they  are  not  normally  found,  with 
serious 
new 
consequences 
environment.  They  are  a  major  threat  to  native  plants 
and  animals  in  Europe  and  cause  damage  worth  billions 
of euros to the EU  economy  every year. Climate change 

negative 

their 

for 

46 Natural Capital Coalition, Natural Capital Protocol. 
47 Business and Biodiversity, The European Business and Biodiversity 
Campaign aims to promote the business case for biodiversity in the EU 
Member States through workshops, seminars and a cross media 
communication strategy. 
48 The Natural Capital Leaders Platform. 
49 Scottish Forum on Natural Capital. 
50 European Commission, Invasive alien species. 

14 

will probably lead to an increase in invasive species in the 
future. 

The  IAS  Regulation  provides  for  measures  on  species 
included in a list of invasive alien species of EU concern51 
to  be  taken  across  the  EU.  These  measures  relate  to 
prevention,  early  detection  and  rapid  eradication  and 
management.  Both  Member  States  and  the  European 
Commission  may  propose  species  to  be  included  on  the 
list, based on risk assessments. 

The  report  on  the  baseline  distribution  (see  Figure  11), 
for which the UK could only review its country-level data 
(and not the grid-level data), shows that of the 37 species 
on the first EU list, 23 have already been observed in the 
UK.  Of  these,  18  IAS  are  established  in  the  UK  with  the 
(Sciurus  carolinensis),  muntjac  deer 
grey  squirrel 
(Pacifastacus 
crayfish 
signal 
(Muntjacus 
leniosculus),  curly  waterweed  (Lagarosiphon  major)  and 
parrot’s  feather  (Myriophyllum  aquaticum)  being  the 
most widespread. 

reevesi), 

Figure  11:  Number  of  IAS  of  EU  concern,  based  on 
available georeferenced information for the UK52 

The  Asian  hornet  (Vespa  velutina)  has  been  detected  in 
the UK in every year since 2016. This is the only species 
for  which  the  UK  has  been  required  to  submit  early 
detection  notifications,  under  Article  16(2)  of  the  IAS 
Regulation. The UK has extensive surveillance in place to 
detect this species and investigate any sightings, and has 
destroyed  several  nests,  eradicating  every  population  to 
date.  The  number  of  early  detections  demonstrates  the 

51 European Commission, List of Invasive Alien Species of Union. 
52 Tsiamis K; Gervasini E; Deriu I; D`amico F; Nunes A; Addamo A; De 
Jesus Cardoso A. Baseline Distribution of Invasive Alien Species of Union 
concern. Ispra (Italy): Publications Office of the European Union; 2017, 
EUR 28596 EN, doi:10.2760/772692. 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

invasion pressure originating from the invasion in France, 
even with the Channel between the two countries. 

in  accordance  with 

The  UK  has  notified  the  Commission  of  its  competent 
authorities  responsible  for  implementation  of  the  IAS 
Regulation 
its  Article 24(2).  The 
national  acts  in  Wales,  Scotland,  Northern  Ireland  and 
England  with  the  relevant  national  provisions  on 
the 
penalties 
Regulation)  are  still  being  prepared  and  should  be 
adopted in spring 2019. 

(Article 30(4)  of 

infringements 

for 

2019 priority action 

 

The  UK is urged to  swiftly adopt  national legislation 
to  comply  with  obligations  required  by  Article 30(4) 
of  the  IAS  Regulation  and  notify  the  Commission  in 
this regard. 

Soil protection 

The  EU  soil  thematic  strategy  underlines  the  need  to 
ensure a  sustainable use of soils.  This  entails preventing 
further  soil  degradation  and  preserving  its  functions,  as 
well as restoring degraded soils. The 2011 Roadmap to a 
Resource Efficient Europe states that by 2020, EU policies 
must  take  into  account  their  direct  and  indirect  impact 
on land use. 

Soil  is  a  finite  and  extremely  fragile  resource  and  it  is 
increasingly degrading in the EU. It is highly unlikely that 
land taken by urban development and infrastructure will 
ever be reverted to its natural state. Such land use mostly 
consumes  agricultural  land  and  increases  fragmentation 
of  habitats.  Soil  protection  is  indirectly  addressed  by  EU 
policies  in  areas  such  as  agriculture,  water,  waste, 
chemicals, and the prevention of industrial pollution. 
The  percentage  of  artificial  land53 in  the  UK  (see  Figure 
12)  can  show  the  relative  pressure  on  nature  and 
biodiversity  and  the  environmental  pressure  on  people 
living in urbanised areas. A similar measure is population 
density. 

The  UK  is  above  the  EU  average  for  artificial  land 
coverage  (6.5 %  vs  4.1 %).  The  population  density  is 
270.5/km2, which is also above the EU average of 11854. 

Contamination  can  severely  reduce  soil  quality  and 
threaten  human  health  or  the  environment.  A  recent 

53 Artificial land cover is defined as the total of roofed built-up areas 
(including buildings and greenhouses), artificial non built-up areas 
(including sealed area features, such as yards, farmyards, cemeteries, 
car parking areas etc. and linear features, such as streets, roads, 
railways, runways, bridges) and other artificial areas (including bridges 
and viaducts, mobile homes, solar panels, power plants, electrical 
substations, pipelines, water sewage plants, and open dump sites). 
54 Eurostat, Population density by NUTS 3 region. 

report  of  the  European  Commission 55 estimated  that 
potentially  polluting  activities  have  taken  or  are  still 
taking place on approximately 2.8 million sites in the EU. 
At EU level,  650 000 of these sites have been registered 
in national or regional inventories. 65 500  contaminated 
sites  already  have  been  remediated.  England  has 
registered 600 sites where potentially polluting activities 
have  taken  or  are  taking  place,  and  already  has 
remediated  or  applied  aftercare  measures  on  433  sites. 
Other  regions  have  not  reported  the  progress  in  the 
management  of  contaminated  sites  and  brownfields  to 
the  working  group  of  the  European  Environment 
Information  and  Observation  Network  (EIONET)  that  is 
responsible for this matter. 
Figure 12: Proportion of artificial land cover, 2015 56 

Soil erosion by water is a natural process, but this natural 
process can be aggravated by climate change and human 
activities  such  as  inappropriate  agricultural  practices, 
deforestation,  forest  fires  or  construction  works.  High 
levels  of  soil  erosion  can  reduce  productivity 
in 
agriculture  and  can  have  negative  and  transboundary 
impacts  on  biodiversity  and  ecosystem  services.  High 

55 Perez Ana Paya, Natalia Rodriguez Eugenio, Status of local soil 
contamination in Europe: Revision of the indicator “Progress in the 
management Contaminated Sites in Europe”, 2018. 
56 Eurostat, Land covered by artificial surfaces by NUTS 2 regions. 

15 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

sediment 

levels  of  soil  erosion  can  also  have  negative  and 
lakes  (due  to 
transboundary  effects  on  rivers  and 
increased 
transport  of 
and 
volumes 
contaminants). According to the RUSLE2015 model57, the 
UK has an average soil loss rate by water of 2.38 tonnes 
per  hectare  per  year  (t ha−a yr−y)  compared  to  the  EU 
mean of 2.46 t ha−a yr−y. This indicates that soil erosion in 
the  UK  is  in  line  with  the  EU  average.  Note  that  these 
figures  are  the  output  of  an  EU  level  model  and  can 
therefore  not  be  considered  as  locally  measured  values. 
The  actual  rate  of  soil  loss  can  vary  strongly  within  a 
Member State depending on local conditions. 

Soil organic matter plays an important role in the carbon 
cycle and in climate change. Soils are the second largest 
carbon sink in the world after oceans.  

Marine protection 

EU coastal and marine policy and legislation require that 
by  2020  the  impact  of  pressures  on  marine  waters  be 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status (GES) and ensure that coastal zones are managed 
sustainably. 

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)58 aims 
to achieve good environmental status of the EU’s marine 
waters  by  2020.  To  that  end,  Member  States  must 
develop  a  marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and 
cooperate  with  the  EU  countries  that  share  the  same 
marine (sub)region. 

For  the  United  Kingdom,  the  Convention  for  the 
protection of the  marine environment  of the North-East 
important 
(OSPAR  Convention)  plays  an 
Atlantic 
contribution  to  achieving  the  goals  of  the  Directive.  The 
Commission  assessed  whether  the  UK’s  measures  were 
appropriate  to  reach  GES59.  Although  the  UK  measures 
address relevant pressures and targets, they do not fully 
address  certain  pressures,  activities  and  associated 
impacts,  such  as  nutrient  enrichment  from  aquaculture 
and  continuous  underwater  noise.  It  is  also  not  clear  to 
what  extent  activities  such  as  marine  renewable 
energies,  hydrocarbon  extraction  dredging,  mining  etc. 
are covered by the measures targeting seabed habitats. 

In the Western Mediterranean Sea sub-region (Gibraltar), 
the UK does not report any fishing regulations as it does 
not  report  to  have  a  fishing  fleet.  However,  it  highlights 
the  extent  to  which  illegal  fisheries  affect  its  marine 

57 Panagos, P., Borrelli, P., Poesen, J., Ballabio, C., Lugato, E., 
Meusburger, K., Montanarella, L., Alewell, C., The new assessment of 
soil loss by water erosion in Europe, (2015) Environmental Science and 
Policy, 54, pp. 438-447. 
58 European Union, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC. 
59 Commission report assessing Member States’ programme of 
measures under the MSFD (forthcoming publication). 

for 
waters.  No 
commercial fish and shellfish have been reported to date. 

fisheries  management  measures 

Overall,  the  UK’s  programmes  of  measures  partially 
address the requirements of the MSFD. 

2019 priority actions 

  Determine 

the 

timelines 

information  about 

for  achieving  good 
environmental  status,  when  these  have  not  been 
reported. 
Provide  more 
its  existing 
measures  and  establish  more  measures  that  have  a 
direct  impact  on  the  sources  of  pressure.  It  should 
quantify  the  expected  level  of  reduction  of  the 
sources of pressure as a result of its measures. 
Ensure 
measures  are  measured 
monitoring programme. 
Ensure  regional  cooperation  with  Member  States 
sharing the same  marine  (sub)region to address the 
leading sources of pressure. 

the  effects  and  effectiveness  of 
through  the  national 

that 

 

 

 

16 

                                                                 
 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

3. Ensuring citizens' health and quality of life 

towards  meeting 
commitments.63  
Figure 13: PM2.5 and NOx emissions by sector in the UK64  

reduction 

emission 

these 

Air quality 

EU clean air  policy and legislation require the significant 
improvement  of  air  quality  in  the  EU,  moving  the  EU 
closer to the quality recommended by the World Health 
Organisation.  Air  pollution  and  its  impacts  on  human 
health,  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  EU  air  quality  legislation  and 
defining strategic targets and actions beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  body  of  air 
legislation 60 ,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 
standards and objectives for a number of air pollutants. 

At the same time, air quality in the UK continues to give a 
cause  for  severe  concern.  For  2015,  the  European 
Environment  Agency  estimated  that  about  31 300 
premature  deaths  were  attributable  to  fine  particulate 
matter65 concentrations,  590  to  ozone66 concentrations 
and over 9 600 to nitrogen dioxide 67 concentrations68. 
For 201769, exceedances related to the annual limit value 
for  nitrogen  dioxide  (NO2)  in  37  (out  of  43)  air  quality 
zones  (including  in  London,  Glasgow,  and  Birmingham). 
Furthermore, the target values regarding benzo(a)pyrene 
concentrations are not being met in some instances. See 
Figure  14  for  the  number  of  air  quality  zones  exceeding 
NO2, PM2.5, and PM10 levels. 

The persistent breaches of air quality standards (for NO2), 
which  have  severe  negative  effects  on  health  and  the 
environment,  are  being  followed  up  by  the  European 
in  all 
Commission  through 

infringement  procedures 

63 Government of the United Kingdom, Air quality: draft Clean Air 
Strategy 2018. 
64 2016 NECD data submitted by Member State to the EEA. 
65 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. 
66 Low level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution. 
67 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). 
68 EEA, Air Quality in Europe – 2018 Report, p. 64. Air Quality in Europe 
– 2017 Report. Please see details in this report as regards the 
underpinning methodology. 
69 EEA, EIONET Central Data Repository. 

The  emissions  of  several  air  pollutants  have  decreased 
significantly  in  the  United  Kingdom 61 .  The  emission 
reductions  between  1990  and  2014,  mentioned  in  the 
previous  EIR,  continued  between  2014  and  2016. 
Emissions  of  sulphur  dioxides  (SO2)  fell  by  44.35 %, 
emissions  of  nitrogen  oxides  (NOx)  fell  by  12.35 %  and 
emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) fell by 2.28 % 
and  emissions  of  volatile  organic  compounds  (NMVOC) 
falling  by  2.5%.  Meanwhile  emissions  of  ammonia  (NH3) 
have increased by 4.88 % between 2014 and 2016. 

Despite  the  reduction  in  emissions  since  1990,  the 
country  needs  to  make  additional  efforts  to  meet  its 
emission  reduction  commitments  (compared  with  2005 
levels)  set  by  the  new  National  Emissions  Ceilings 
Directive 62 for  2020-2029  and  for  any  year  from  2030. 
The  UK  Government  published  a  Clean  Air  Strategy  for 
consultation in May 2018 which sets out additional action 

60 European Commission, Air Quality Standards,2016. 
61 See EIONET Central Data Repository and Air pollutant emissions data 
viewer (NEC Directive). 
62 Directive 2016/2284/EU. 

17 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

Justice 

for  exceeding  NO2 

including  the  UK.  The 
Member  States  concerned, 
Commission has decided to refer the UK to the European 
Court  of 
(see 
COM (2018) 330).  The  aim  is  to  ensure  that  adequate 
into 
measures  are  put  in  place  to  bring  all  zones 
compliance.  In  July  2017,  the  UK  published  the  UK  Plan 
for  Tackling  Roadside  Nitrogen  Dioxide  Concentrations 
setting  out  measures  to  achieve  compliance  in  the 
shortest  possible  time70.  A  Supplement  to  this  Plan  was 
published on 5th October 201871.  

levels 

Figure  14:  Air  quality  zones  exceeding  EU  air  quality 
standards in 201772 

According to a special report from the European Court of 
Auditors73,  EU  action  to  protect  human  health  from  air 
pollution has not had its expected impact. There is a risk 
that  air  pollution  is  being  underestimated  in  some 
instances because it may not always be monitored in the 
right  places.  Member  States  are  now  required  to  report 
both  real-time  and  validated  air  quality  data  to  the 
Commission74. 

In  July  2018,  The  UK  participated  in  a  TAIEX-EIR  P2P 
workshop in Bratislava, with  experts from more than 10 
EU  Member  States  to  exchange  knowledge  and  good 
practices on reducing emissions from domestic heating. 

2019 priority actions 

 

Take  action,  in  the  context  of  the  forthcoming 
national air pollution control programme (NAPCP), to 
reduce the main emission sources. 

70 Government of the United Kingdom, Air quality plan for nitrogen 
dioxide (NO2) in UK. 
71 Government of the United Kingdom, Supplement to the UK plan for 
tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations. 
72 EEA, EIONET Central Data Repository. Data reflects the reporting 
situation as of 26 November 2018. 
73 European Court of Auditors, Special report no 23/2018: Air pollution: 
Our health still insufficiently protected. 
74 Article 5 of Commission Implementing Decision 2011/850/EU of 12 
December 2011 laying down rules for Directives 2004/107/EC and 
2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards 
the reciprocal exchange of information and reporting on ambient air 
quality (OJ L 335, 17.12.2011, p. 86) requires Member States to provide 
Up-To-Date data. 

and 

  Accelerate  the  reduction  of  nitrogen  oxide  (NOx) 
(NO2) 
emissions 
concentrations.  This  will  require, 
for  example, 
further  reducing  transport  emissions,  particularly  in 
urban  areas  (and  may  require  proportionate  and 
targeted urban vehicle access restrictions). 

nitrogen 

dioxide 

Industrial emissions 

The  main objectives of EU policy on industrial emissions 
are to: 
(i) protect air, water and soil; 
(ii) prevent and manage waste; 
(iii) improve energy and resource efficiency; and  
(iv) clean up contaminated sites.  
To  achieve  this,  the  EU  takes  an  integrated  approach  to 
the  prevention  and  control  of  routine  and  accidental 
industrial emissions. The cornerstone of the policy is the 
Industrial Emissions Directive75 (IED). 

The  below  overview  of  industrial  activities  regulated  by 
the  IED  is  based  on  the  ‘industrial  emissions  policy 
country profiles’ project76. 

In the UK, around 4000 industrial installations must have 
a  permit  according  to  the  IED.  In  2015,  the  industrial 
sectors in the UK with the most IED installations were the 
intensive rearing of poultry or pigs (37 %), non-hazardous 
waste (19 %) and chemicals (11 %). 

Figure  15:  Number  of  IED  industrial  installations  by 
sector, UK (2015)77 

75 Directive 2010/75/EU covers industrial activities carried out above 
certain thresholds. It covers energy industry, metal production, mineral 
and chemical industry and waste management, as well as a wide range 
of industrial and agricultural sectors (e.g. intensive rearing of pig and 
poultry, pulp and paper production, painting and cleaning). 
76 European Commission, Industrial emissions policy country profile – 
UK. 
77 European Commission, Industrial emissions policy country profile – 
UK. 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

The sectors identified as contributing the most emissions 
to air in the UK are: (i) ‘energy-power’ for sulphur oxides 
(SOx),  nitrogen  oxides  (NOx)  and  mercury  (Hg);  (ii) 
‘energy  refining’  for  sulphur  oxides  (SOx);  (iii)  ‘iron  and 
(As), 
for  cadmium 
steel  production’ 
chromium  (Cr),  lead  (Pb),  mercury  (Hg),  zinc  (Zn)  and 
polychlorinated  dibenzodioxins  and  polychlorinated 
dibenzofurans (PCDD/F); (iv) ‘other activities’ (mostly the 
intensive  rearing  of  poultry  or  pigs  and  surface 
treatment) for non-methane volatile organic compounds 
(NMVOCs)  and  ammonia  (NH3);  (v) 
‘chemicals’  for 
chromium (Cr); and (vi) ‘waste management’ for mercury 
(Hg). The breakdown is shown in the following graph. 

(Cd),  arsenic 

Figure 16: Emissions to air from IED sectors and all other 
national air emissions, UK (2015) 

Regarding  water  emissions,  energy 
chemicals  were 
environmental burdens for emissions to water. 

identified  as  having 

refining  and 
significant 

The enforcement approach under the IED creates strong 
rights for citizens to have access to relevant information 
and  to  participate  in  the  permitting  process  for  IED 
installations. This empowers NGOs and the general public 
to  ensure  that  permits  are  appropriately  granted  and 
their conditions respected.  

Best available techniques (BAT) reference documents and 
BAT conclusions are developed through the exchange of 
industrial 
information  between  Member 
associations,  NGOs  and  the  Commission.  This  ensures  a 
good  collaboration  with  stakeholders  and  a  better 
application of the IED’s rules. 

States, 

Thanks  to  the  national  competent  authorities’  efforts  to 
apply the legally binding BAT conclusions and associated 
BAT  emission  levels  in  environmental  permits,  pollution 
has decreased considerably and continuously in the EU. 

For  example,  by  applying  the  recently  adopted  BAT 
emission levels for large combustion plants, emissions of 

sulphur dioxide will be  cut  on average by between 25 % 
and 81 %, nitrogen oxide by between 8 % and 56 %, dust 
by  between  31 %  and  78 %  and  mercury  by  between 
19 %  and  71 %  at  EU  level.  The  extent  of  the  reduction 
depends on the situation in individual plants. 

The  challenge  identified  for  the  UK  is  to  meet  the  BAT 
levels  in  the  refining  of  mineral  oil  and  gas,  in  car 
production  (surface  treatment  using  organic  solvents) 
and in large combustion plants. 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

 

Continue  the  review  of  permits  to  ensure  that  they 
comply with the newly adopted BAT conclusions. 
Continue to ensure compliance with BAT conclusions 
through regulatory control. 
Ensure  compliance  with  the  BAT  particularly  in  the 
refining  of  mineral  oil  and  gas  sectors, 
in  car 
production 
treatment  using  organic 
solvents) and in large combustion plants. 

(surface 

Noise 
The  Environmental  Noise  Directive 78  provides  for  a 
common  approach  to  avoiding,  preventing  and  reducing 
the harmful effects of exposure to environmental noise. 

Excessive noise from aircraft, railways and roads is one of 
the  main  causes  of  environmental  health-related  issues 
limited  set  of  data 80 , 
in  the  EU 79 .  Based  on  a 
environmental noise is estimated to cause at least 1 800 
premature  deaths  per  year  in  the  UK  and  is  responsible 
for around 5 500 hospital admissions. Noise also disturbs 
the  sleep  of  roughly  2 200 000  people  in  the  UK.  The 
Environmental Noise Directive is being implemented. The 
noise  mapping 
the  previous  reporting  round 
(reference year 2011) is complete as are the action plans 
(reference year 2013).  These instruments, adopted after 
a  public  consultation  had  been  carried  out,  should 
include the measures to keep noise low or reduce it. 

for 

78 Directive 2002/49/EC. 
79 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 
Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
World Health Organisation, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark. 
80 European Environment Agency, Noise Fact Sheets 2017. 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

Water quality and management 

EU  legislation  and  policy  requires  that  the  impact  of 
pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh  waters 
(including  surface  and  ground  waters)  be  significantly 
reduced.  Achieving,  maintaining  or  enhancing  a  good 
status  of  water  bodies  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive  will  ensure that EU citizens benefit 
from good quality and safe drinking and bathing water. It 
will  further  ensure  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

legislation 81  puts 

The  existing  EU  water 
in  place  a 
protective  framework  to  ensure  high  standards  for  all 
water  bodies  in  the  EU  and  addresses  specific  pollution 
sources  (for  example,  from  agriculture,  urban  areas  and 
industrial  activities).  It  also  requires  that  the  projected 
into  the 
impacts  of  climate  change  are 
corresponding  planning 
risk 
management  plans  and  river  basin  management  plans, 
including  programme  of  measures  which  include  the 
actions  that  Member  States  plan  to  take  in  order  to 
achieve the environmental objectives. 

instruments  e.g. flood 

integrated 

Water Framework Directive 

The  United  Kingdom  has  adopted  and  reported  the 
second  generation  of  River  Basin  Management  Plans 
under the Water Framework Directive and the European 
Commission  has  assessed 
the 
development  since  the  adoption  of  the  first  River  Basin 
Management  Plans,  including  suggested  actions  in  the 
EIR report 2017. 

status  and 

the 

physical 

The  most  significant  pressures  on  surface  water  in  the 
United  Kingdom  are  unknown  anthropogenic  pressure 
(28%),  followed  by  diffuse  agricultural  pollution  (20%) 
channel/bed/riparian 
and 
area/shore  (20%).  For  groundwater  bodies  the  most 
significant  pressure  is  diffuse  pollution  from  agriculture 
followed  by  diffuse  pollution,  pressure  from  mining  and 
alteration of water level or volume. 

alteration 

of 

Nutrient pollution was the most significant impact on all 
surface water (34% of surface water bodies), followed by 
altered habitats due to morphological change (32%) and 
organic pollution (13%).  

Overall  there  appears  to  be  a  small  increase  in  the 
proportion  of  surface  water  bodies 
in 
surveillance monitoring and a decrease in the proportion 

included 

81 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC), the Urban 
Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) (on discharges of 
municipal and some industrial wastewaters), the Drinking Water 
Directive (98/83/EC) (on potable water quality), the Water Framework 
Directive (2000/60/EC) (on water resources management), the Nitrates 
Directive (91/676/EEC) and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC). 

in  operational 
of  surface  water  bodies 
monitoring between the first and the second River Basin 
Management  Plans,  regarding  the  ecological  status  in 
surface water bodies.  

included 

In terms of surveillance monitoring only 6 out of 15 River 
Basin  Districts  had  any  coastal  water  bodies  where  all 
required biological quality elements were monitored. For 
lakes,  there  were  no  water  bodies  where  all  required 
biological quality elements were monitored. 

The ecological status/potential was less than good in two 
thirds of surface water bodies  as illustrated in figure 17. 
This shows that the United Kingdom has a long way to go 
to achieve the good status/potential objectives set down 
in the Water Framework Directive. 

Figure 17: Ecological status or potential of surface water 
bodies in the United Kingdom82. 

There has been a  significant  reduction in the number of 
sites  and  water  bodies  monitored 
in  operational 
monitoring  programmes  for  Priority  Substances  in  River 
Basin Districts in England and Wales. This is explained by 
the  risk-based  approach  taken  by  the  Environment 
Agency  in  England  and  Wales  to  identify  which  water 
bodies  require  monitoring.  Water  bodies  at  lower  risk 
were  identified  as  being  at  good  chemical  status,  with 
low confidence without further monitoring. Based on this 
approach there was a large increase in the proportion of 
surface  water  bodies  classified  as  good  for  the  second 
River Basin Management Plans compared to the first. 

The  monitoring  situation  of  quantitative  status  of 
groundwater  bodies  has  slightly  improved.  The  number 

82 EEA, WISE dashboard. 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

21  bathing  waters  were  of  poor  quality 84 .  Detailed 
information on the UK’s bathing waters is available on a 
national  web  portal85 and  on  an  interactive  map  viewer 
designed  and  hosted  by  the  European  Environment 
Agency86. 
Figure 18 Bathing water quality 2014–201787 

of monitored groundwater bodies increased and the total 
number of groundwater bodies  failing good quantitative 
status  decreased  significantly  (20%).  However,  in  four 
river basin districts (Anglian, Neagh Bann, North Western 
and  North  Eastern)  the  number  groundwater  bodies  in 
poor status increased. 

Most  significant  pressures  are  identified  in  the  River 
Basin  Management  Plans  and  addressed  by  measures 
(Key  type  of  measures).  Some  measures  are  completed 
since  the  first  Programme  of  Measures  but  obstacles 
such  as  lack  of  finance  (which  was  identified  for  the 
majority of River Basin Districts) and lack of a mechanism 
for  implementation  as  well  as  measures  not  being  cost-
effective have occurred in relation to the implementation 
of the first Programme of Measures.  

The  amount  and  quality  of  readily  available  information 
has  in  general  improved  between  the  first  and  the 
second  River  Basin  Management  Plans.  There  seems  to 
be  a  broader  range  of  River  Basin  Specific  Pollutants 
reported, even though measures may not  be in place to 
address the failures they cause.  

Nitrates Directive 

Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive  

A  number  of  shortcomings  have  been  identified  on 
nitrates for which the UK needs to take follow-up action. 
Considering  the  slow  rate  of  improvement  of  its  water 
quality,  the  Commission  has  addressed  some  questions 
to the UK on its application of the Nitrates Directive and 
the  suitability  of  the  monitoring  programmes  to  assess 
the  effectiveness  of  action  programmes.  The  UK  has 
responded  and  continues  to  work  with  the  Commission 
investigation.  The  UK  has  also 
to  complete  their 
implemented  new  legislation  in  England  to  help  tackle 
diffuse  pollution  from  agriculture.  The  Reduction  and 
Prevention  of  Agricultural  Diffuse  Pollution  (England) 
Regulations  201883 came  into  force  on  2  April  2018  and 
are  designed  to  complement  and  supplement  the  UK’s 
implementation  of  Article  11(3)(h)  of 
the  Water 
Framework Directive, and the Nitrates Directive. The new 
rules  apply  to  all  agricultural  land  in  England  and  cover 
two main activities in order to reduce and prevent diffuse 
water pollution from agricultural sources: the application 
and  storage  of  fertilisers;  and  the  management  of  soil 
and 
is  still  waiting  for 
livestock.  The  Commission 
additional action to be taken in Wales. 

Bathing Water Directive 

Figure 18 shows that in 2017, out of the UK’s 634 bathing 
waters, 61.4 % were of excellent quality, 26.3 % of good 
quality  and  8.4 %  of  sufficient  quality  (compared  to 
65.1 %, 24.9 % and 6.5 % respectively in 2016). However, 

83UK, The Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution 
(England) Regulations 2018. 

The  UK  has  a  fairly  high  level  of  compliance  with  the 
Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, even though a 
few  areas  of  non-compliance  remain.  All  (100 %)  waste 
water  is  collected  in  the  UK  and  98.6 %  undergoes 
secondary  treatment  with  92.8 %  undergoing  more 
stringent  treatment88.  Similar  to  what  was  reported  in 
the 2017 EIR,  the  UK is  still implementing a  Court  ruling 
concerning  London  (C-301/10,  18 October  2012)  by 
building  a  tunnel  under  the  Thames.  The  UK  has  also 
been  addressing  storm  water  overflows,  which  are 
increasingly being addressed by innovative solutions (e.g. 
sustainable  urban  drainage  systems).  The  Commission  is 
monitoring the UK’s progress on these issues. Plans are in 
place  to  improve  the  management  of  storm  water 
overflows  through  increasing  the  number  of  overflows 
covered by Event Duration Monitoring (EDM). EDM data 
is being used to drive improvements in performance. 

84 European Environment Agency, 2017. European bathing water quality 
in 2016 , p. 17. 
85 UK Environment Agency, bathing water quality portal (England). 
bathing water quality (Northern Ireland). 
SEPA, bathing water quality portal (Scotland), Environmental Agency 
Gibraltar, bathing water quality  (Gibraltar), Natural Resources Wales, 
bathing water quality (Wales). 
86 EEA, State of bathing waters. 
87 European Environment Agency, 2018. European bathing water quality 
in 2017, p. 21. 
88 European Commission, Ninth Report on the Implementation Status 
and the Programmes for Implementation of the Urban Waste Water 
Treatment Directive (COM(2017)749) and Commission Staff Working 
Document accompanying the report (SWD(2017)445). 

21 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

Floods Directive 

The  Floods  Directive  established  a  framework  for  the 
assessment and management of flood risks, aiming at the 
reduction  of  the  adverse  consequences  associated  with 
significant floods. 

The  United  Kingdom  has  adopted  and  reported  its  first 
Flood  Risk  Management  Plans  under  the  Directive  and 
the European Commission conducted an assessment.  

The  Commission’s  assessment  found  that  good  efforts 
were made with positive results in setting objectives and 
devising  measures  focusing  on  prevention,  protection 
and  preparedness.  The  assessment  also  showed  that,  as 
was  the  case  for  other  Member  States,  the  United 
Kingdom’s  Flood  Risk  Management  Plans 
include 
measures that are not clearly prioritised and not linked to 
the  objectives  and  a  baseline  to  assess  the  progress 
achieved  in  implementing  the  measures  (by  extension 
the  objectives  too).  In  addition,  there  is  scope  for 
identifying  specific  sources  of  funding  for  the  measures 
to achieve the objectives set 

2019 priority actions 

 

Ensure that, in the preparation of the next RBMPs, 
the  public  is  duly  consulted  taking  into  account 
these document’s purpose and complexity.   

 

  Address the large uncertainties reported in relation 
to  the  assessment  of  the  status,  the  pressures  and 
the  effect  of  potential  measures  for  groundwater 
bodies.  
Scale  up  nitrates  prevention  and 
reduction 
measures  to  meet  water  quality  objectives  and 
improve  control  measures.  Include  eutrophication 
caused  by  phosphorus  when  designating  nitrate 
vulnerable zones. 
Take steps to identify specific sources of funding in 
the Floods Risk Management Plans for the measures 
to achieve the objectives set. 

 

Chemicals 

The  EU  seeks  to  ensure  that  by  2020  chemicals  are 
produced and used in ways that minimise any significant 
adverse  effects  on  human  health  and  the  environment. 
An  EU  strategy  for  a  non-toxic  environment  that  is 
conducive  to  innovation  and  to  developing  sustainable 
substitutes,  including  non-chemical  options, 
is  being 
prepared. 

legislation 89  provides  baseline 
The  EU’s  chemicals 
protection for human health and the environment. It also 
ensures  stability  and  predictability 
for  businesses 
operating within the internal market. 

In  2016,  the  European  Chemicals  Agency 
(ECHA) 
published  a  report  on  REACH  and  the  CLP  Regulation90 
that showed that enforcement activities are still evolving. 
Member  States  cooperate  closely  within  the  Forum  for 
Information  on  Enforcement  91 .  This 
Exchange  of 
cooperation  has  shown  that  there  is  scope  to  increase 
the  effectiveness  of  enforcement  activities,  particularly 
for registration obligations and safety data sheets where 
the level of non-compliance is still relatively high. 

While progress has been made, there is room to further 
improve and harmonise enforcement activities across the 
EU,  including  controls  on  imported  goods.  Enforcement 
remains  weak  in  some  Member  States,  particularly  for 
controls  on  imports  and  supply  chain  obligations.  The 
enforcement  architecture 
in  most  EU 
countries and enforcement projects reveal differences in 
compliance between Member States. 

is  complex 

A  2015  Commission  study  already  emphasised  the 
importance  of  harmonised  market  surveillance  and 
enforcement  when  implementing  REACH  at  Member 
State  level,  deeming  it  to  be  a  critical  success  factor  in 
the operation of a harmonised single market

92

. 

In March 2018, the Commission published an evaluation 
of  REACH 93 .  The  evaluation  concludes  that  REACH 
delivers  on  its  objectives,  but  that  progress  made  is 
slower  than  anticipated.  In  addition,  the  registration 
dossiers often are incomplete. The evaluation underlines 
the need to enhance enforcement by all actors, including 
registrants,  downstream  users  and 
in  particular  for 
importers,  to  ensure  a  level  playing  field,  meet  the 
objectives  of  REACH  and  ensure  consistency  with  the 
actions envisaged to improve environmental compliance 
and  governance.  Consistent  reporting  of  Member  State 
enforcement  activities  was  considered  important  in  that 
respect. 

The  UK’s  REACH  enforcement  regime  was  implemented 
through  the REACH  enforcement  regulations  in  200894. 
These regulations give a number of enforcing authorities 

89 Principally for chemicals: REACH (OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p.1.); for 
Classification, Labelling and Packaging, the CLP Regulation (: OJ L 252, 
31.12.2006, p.1.), together with legislation on biocidal products and 
plant protection products. 
90 European Chemicals Agency, Report on the Operation of REACH and 
CLP 2016. 
91 ECHA, on the basis of the projects REF-1, REF-2 and REF-3.  
92 European Commission. (2015). Monitoring the Impacts of REACH on 
Innovation, Competitiveness and SMEs. Brussels: European 
Commission. 
93European Commission, COM(2018) 116. 
94 UK, REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008. 

22 

                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

the  responsibility  to  enforce  REACH  and  grant  them  the 
necessary powers. They also oblige enforcing authorities 
to  cooperate  and  share  information  with  other  bodies 
that enforce REACH, and they set down the offences and 
penalties for any breaches95. 

Making cities more sustainable 

EU policy on the urban environment encourages cities to 
put  policies  in  place  for  sustainable  urban  planning  and 
design.  These  should  include  innovative  approaches  to 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation. 

transport  and  mobility, 

Europe  can  be  seen  as  a  union  of  cities  and  towns. 
Around  75 %  of  the  EU  population  live  in  urban  areas96 
and  this  figure  is  projected  to  rise  to  just  over  80%  by 
205097.  Urban  areas  pose  particular  challenges  for  the 
environment  and  human  health,  but  they  also  provide 
opportunities  for  using  resources  more  efficiently.  The 
EU encourages municipalities to become greener through 
initiatives  such  as  the  Green  Capital  Award98,  the  Green 
Leaf Award99 and the Green City Tool100. 

Financing greener cities 

The UK has allocated EUR 323 million or 5.5 % of its ERDF 
allocation  (excluding  technical  assistance)  to  sustainable 
urban  development101.  This  financing  approach  will  only 
be taken in England, where it will cover London and other 
city  regions  with  a  population  of  more  than  600 000 
(Greater  Birmingham  and  Solihull,  Bristol,  Leeds, 
Liverpool,  Greater  Manchester,  Newcastle,  Nottingham 
and Sheffield). 

The  UK  participates  in  the  Urban  Development  Network 
(UDN)102, which includes more than 500 cities across the 
EU  responsible  for  carrying  out  integrated  measures 
based  on  sustainable  urban  development  strategies 
financed by ERDF in 2014-2020. 

Of  the  UDN’s 
initiatives,  the  ERDF  supports  urban 
innovative actions to test new and unproven solutions for 
urban  challenges.  The  urban  innovation  actions  have  a 
total  ERDF  budget  of  EUR 372  million  for  2014-2020103. 
Participating  cities  in  the  UK  are  Birmingham  with  the 
(Unlocking  Social  and  Economic 
USE-IT!  project 

95 ECHA, The UK enforcement regime for REACH. 
96 European Commission, Urban Europe, 2016. 
97 European Commission, Eurostat, Urban Europe, 2016, p.9. 
98 European Commission, the Green Capital Award. 
99 European Commission, the Green Leaf Award. 
100 European Commission, the Green City Tool. 
101 European Commission, Partnership agreement with the United 
Kingdom - 2014-20. 
102 European Commission, The Urban Development Network. 
103 European Commission, Urban Innovative Actions. 

Innovation)  and  Coventry,  which  are  trying  to  address 
problems related to migration. 

Participation in EU urban initiatives and networks 

UK  municipalities  are  generally  involved  in  EU  initiatives 
on environmental protection and climate change. 

In  2015,  Bristol  became  the  first  UK  city  to  win  the 
European Green Capital Award, thanks to its investment 
plans for transport and energy. 

For 

the  URBACT 

The  UK  is  involved  in  14  of  the  18  thematic  networks 
under the URBACT initiative to support sustainable urban 
development. 
III  programme, 
Westminster  took  the  lead  in  the  ‘electric  vehicles  in 
urban  Europe  results’  network  to  develop  integrated, 
sustainable strategies and dynamic leadership techniques 
for cities to promote the use of electric vehicles. The UK 
also 
‘Freight  Tails’  network  for 
innovative  logistics  and  Manchester  is  lead  partner  on 
two projects. The aim of CSI Europe Results is to support 
in  cities’,  and  the  URBACT 
‘sustainable 
SmartImpact  network  looks  at  local  impacts  from  smart 
city planning. 

leads  the  URBACT 

investment 

The  ‘Urban  agenda  for  the  EU’  is  an  integrated  and 
coordinated approach to deal with the urban dimension 
of EU and national policies and legislation. By focusing on 
concrete  priority  themes  within  dedicated  partnerships, 
the Urban agenda  seeks to improve the quality of life in 
urban  areas.  The  City  of  London  coordinates  the 
partnership  on  energy  transition  and  part  of  the 
partnership  on  clean  air.  The  Scottish  Cities  Alliance  is  a 
member of the partnership on housing. 

Several  Horizon  2020  network  projects  have  also 
contributed  to  the  sustainability  of  UK  cities.  CIVITAS 
includes  23  UK  municipalities  that  work  together  to 
achieve cleaner and better transport in cities104. Bristol is 
part  of  the  ‘Clair  City’  project,  a  citizen-led  initiative  to 
reduce air pollution in cities105. Edinburgh was one of the 
test  cities  for  the  ‘Social  Car’  project106,  a  research  and 
innovation  project  that  seeks  to  incorporate  carpooling 
into  existing  mobility  systems.  Its  goal  is  to  design, 
develop,  test  and  roll  out  a  service  that  simplifies  the 
travel  experience  of  citizens  in  urban  and  peri-urban 
areas.  

36  UK  cities  are  also  involved  in  the  EU  Covenant  of 
Mayors initiative, coordinated by the Energy Saving Trust. 
As  of  May  2018,  nine  cities  have  already  implemented 
their action plans and are monitoring the results. Another 
25 cities have at least presented their climate action plan 

104 European Commission, Horizon 2020 Civitas Project. 
105 European Commission, Horizon 2020 Claircity Project. 
106 EU project, Social car. 

23 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

UK cities generally have high  levels of traffic congestion. 
Belfast is the fourth most congested city in Europe, while 
Edinburgh and London are also in the top 10. In total, 20 
UK cities have congestion levels above 25 %. 

Air  quality,  especially  the  extent  to  which  it  relates  to 
traffic  congestion,  is  one  of  the  main  challenges  for  the 
UK. It requires priority action at local level. 

and  the  commitments  they  aim  to  meet  by  2020  or 
2030107. 

Such urban initiatives and networks that contribute to a 
better  urban  environment  are  welcome  given  that  in 
2017, 13.7 % of the UK population living in cities said that 
their neighbourhood was affected by pollution, grime or 
other  environmental  problems.  This  is  an  increase  since 
2016 (10.8 %) and 2015 (10.4 %). However, these figures 
are  significantly  lower  than  the  EU-28  average  (20 %  in 
2017, 18.9 % in 2016 and 19.2 % in 2015)108. 

Nature and cities 

14 %  of  the  UK’s  Natura  2000  network  is  in  functional 
urban  areas109,  close  to  the  EU  average  of  15 %  (see 
Figure 19). 

Figure  19:  Proportion  of  Natura  2000  network 
Functional Urban Areas (FUA) 110 

in 

Many  environmental  policy  measures  and  practical 
actions contribute indirectly to green infrastructure goals 
in the UK111. 

Urban sprawl 

The  UK  had  a  high  weighted  urban  proliferation  of  3.18 
UPU/m2 in 2009 compared to the European average (EU-
28+EEA-4)  of  1.64  UPU/m2 112, with  an  increase  of  3.6 % 
from 2006 to 2009113. 

Traffic congestion and urban mobility 

The total number of road vehicles in the UK has increased 
to 30.6 million in 2016. The average number of hours per 
year spent  in traffic jams rose from 40.25 hours in 2014 
to 45.09 in 2016 — the highest in the EU114. 

107 Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, Country signatories. 
108 European Commission, Eurostat, Pollution, grime or other 
environmental problems by degree of urbanisation. 
109 European Commission, Definition of Functional Urban Areas. 
110 European Commission, the 7th Report on Economic, Social and 
Territorial Cohesion, 2017, p. 121. 
111 Biodibversity Information System for Europe: United Kingdom. 
112 Urban Permeation Units measure the size of the built-up area as well 
as its degree of dispersion throughout the region. 
113 EEA, Urban Sprawl in Europe, Annex I, 2014, pp.4-5. 
114 European Commission, Hours spent in road congestion annually. 

24 

 
                                                                 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

Part II: Enabling framework: Implementation tools 

4. Green taxation, green public procurement, environmental funding 

and investments 

processes  and  for  coal  suppliers.  These  exemptions 
added up to GBP 5.7 billion in 2016119. 

Figure  20:  Environmental  tax  revenues  as  %  of  GDP 
(2017)120 

Green  taxation  and  environmentally  harmful 
subsidies 

incentives, 

Financial 
taxation  and  other  economic 
instruments  are  effective  and  efficient  ways  to  meet 
environmental  policy  objectives.  The  circular  economy 
action  plan  encourages  their  use.  Environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  are  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  the  energy  union  governance 
process. 

The  UK’s  revenue 
from  environment-related  taxes 
remains in line with the EU average. Environmental taxes 
accounted for 2.39 % of Gross Domestic Product in 2017 
(EU-28  average  2.4 %)  (see  Figure  20)  and  energy  taxes 
for  1.78 %  of  GDP  (EU  average  1.84 %) 115.  In  the  same 
year,  environmental  tax  revenues  were  6.75 %  of  total 
revenues from taxes and social security contributions (EU 
average 5.97 %). 

The  UK’s  tax  structure  results  in  a  lower  proportion  of 
revenues  from  labour  tax  in  total  tax  revenues  than  the 
EU average. The UK’s labour tax revenues were 38.9 % in 
2016,  while  the  implicit  tax  burden  on  labour  was 
25.7 %116.  Consumption  taxes  remained  relatively  low 
(32.6 %,  17th  in  EU-28),  showing  that  there  is  some 
potential  for  shifting  taxes  from  labour  to  consumption, 
particularly to environmental taxes. 

There are several examples of sound fiscal measures for 
the environment. One is the landfill tax, which has had a 
significant positive effect on the quantity of waste sent to 
landfill (a 75 % decrease in 14 years)117. Another example 
the  negative 
is 
environmental  impacts  of  aggregate  extraction  and  to 
serve as an incentive for recycling118. 

the  aggregates 

reduce 

levy 

to 

Fossil  fuel  subsidies  decreased  in  the  past  decade  and 
financial  aid  for  coal  has  almost  disappeared.  Tax 
exemptions  have  increased  in  2016  and  taken  the  form 
of:  (i)  a  reduced  level  of  VAT  for  domestic  fuel  and 
power; (ii) tied oils scheme; and (iii) exemptions from the 
climate  change  levy  for  metallurgical  and  mineralogical 

The  UK  is  the  first  EU  country  that  has  managed  to 
reduce the ‘diesel differential’ (difference in the price of 
diesel versus petrol) to zero121. Excise tax rates levied on 
in 
petrol  and  diesel 
comparison  with  those  in  2015  (GBP  0.58  per  litre  for 
petrol and GBP 0.58 for diesel)122. 

in  2016  remained  constant 

The use of alternative fuels in new passenger cars sold in 
the  UK  has  considerably  increased  over  the  past  few 
years. The share of new passenger cars using alternative 
fuels  was  10  times  higher  in  2016  than  in  2013 and  the 

115 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, 2018. 
116 European Commission, Taxation Trends Report, 2017. 
117 Institute for European Environmental Policy, Case Studies on 
Environmental Fiscal Reform, Landfill tax in UK. 
118 Institute for European Environmental Policy, Case Studies on 
Environmental Fiscal Reform, Aggregates levy in UK. 

119 OECD, Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels, 2018. 
120 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, 2018. 
121 European Environment Agency 2017, Environmental taxation and EU 
environmental policies, p.27. 
122 European Commission, Taxes in Europe Database, 2018. 

25 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

total  number  of  new  passenger  cars  using  alternative 
fuels almost quadrupled between 2011 and 2015123. 

and  can  help  support  sustainable  innovative  businesses. 
The Commission has proposed EU GPP criteria130. 

Favourable tax treatment for company cars is not a cause 
for concern in the UK124 where  the individual’s company 
car  tax  liability  is  set  according  to  the  CO2  emissions 
rating  of  the  car  and  the  type  of  fuel  it  uses125.  Some 
relevant  fiscal  measures  have  been 
introduced  for 
company  cars  in  2018,  for  example,  allowances  for  cars 
according to their CO2 emissions126. 

CO2-based  motor  vehicle  taxes  are  in  place  in  the  UK. 
Vehicle  registration  tax  is  based  on  emissions,  as  is  the 
annual  circulation  tax.  Alternative  fuel  cars  receive  a 
discount  on  the  ‘paid  rates’  of  tax 127.  Incentives  to 
encourage people to buy cars with lower CO2 emissions 
were  put  in  place  in  2016.  These  were  linked  to  annual 
circulation  taxes  and  subsidies,  road  tolls,  congestion  or 
low  emission  zone  charges  and  also  to  buying  cleaner 
vehicles.  There  are  some  incentives  connected  to  the 
preferential  use  of  road  infrastructures128.  Emissions  of 
new vehicles bought in the UK are still higher than the EU 
average,  with  CO2  emissions  of  120.1  grams  per 
kilometre (EU average 118 grams in 2016)129. 

Green public procurement 

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member  States  to  take  further  steps  to  apply  green 
procurement  criteria  to  at  least  50 %  of  public  tenders. 
The European Commission is helping to increase the use 
of  public  procurement  as  a  strategic  tool  to  support 
environmental protection. 

The purchasing power of public procurement amounts to 
around  EUR 1.8  trillion  in  the  EU  (approximately  14%  of 
GDP).  A  substantial  proportion  of  this  money  goes  to 
sectors  with  a  high  environmental 
impact  such  as 
construction  or  transport.  Therefore,  green  public 
procurement  (GPP)  can  help  to  significantly  lower  the 
negative  impact  of  public  spending  on  the  environment 

123 European Commission, Transport in the European Union Current 
Trends and Issues, 2018, pp.27-28. 
124 European Commission, Taxation of commercial cars in Belgium, 
2017, p.3. 
125 ACEA, CO2 based motor vehicle taxes in Europe. 
126 FleetEurope, Major changes to company car taxation in Europe. 
127 ACEA, CO2 based motor vehicle taxes in Europe. 
128 European Environmental Agency, Appropriate taxes and incentives 
do affect purchases of new cars, 18 May 2018. 
129 European Environment Agency, Average CO2 emissions from new 
passenger cars sold in EU-28 Member States plus Norway, Iceland and 
Switzerland in 2016 . 

26 

The  UK  is  one  of  the  leaders  on  GPP.  The  ‘greening 
government’ commitments set  out  the overall policy for 
central  government  on  greening  operations  including 
procurement 
related 
agencies.  There  is  also  a  local  government  sustainable 
procurement  strategy  and  strategies  for  the  Scottish 
government, the Welsh government and the government 
for Northern Ireland. 

for  central  government  and 

The  ‘greening  government’  commitments  are  political 
legal 
and  administrative  commitments,  but  not  a 
requirement. Where centralised contracts are developed, 
it is mandatory for departments to use them. 

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  include  criteria  sets  at  two  levels  — 
`mandatory minimum’ and `voluntary best practice’. The 
GPP 
in  departmental  and 
centralised  procurement  contracts  through  ‘government 
buying  standards’.  All  central  government  departments 
and  their  related  organisations  must  ensure  that  they 
meet these mandatory standards. 

targets  are  embedded 

Environmental funding and investments 

European  Structural  and  Investment  Fund  (ESIF)  rules 
oblige  Member  States  to  promote  environment  and 
climate  in  their  funding  strategies  and  programmes  for 
economic, 
rural 
development and maritime policy. 

social  and 

territorial 

cohesion, 

Achieving  sustainability  involves  mobilising  public  and 
private  financing  sources 131 .  Use  of  the  European 
Structural  and  Investment  Funds  (ESIFs)132 is  essential  if 
countries  are  to  achieve  their  environmental  goals  and 
into  other  policy  areas.  Other 
integrate 
instruments such as Horizon 2020, the LIFE programme133 

these 

130 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. 
131 See, for example, Action plan on financing sustainable growth 
(COM(2018) 97).  
132 i.e. the European Regional Development Fund (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 are referred to as 
the ‘cohesion policy funds’. 
133 European Commission, LIFE programme. 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)134 
may also support the implementation and spread of good 
practices. 

According  to  the  2017  Special  Eurobarometer  on 
attitudes  of  EU  citizens  towards  the  environment,  the 
level  of  support  of  British  people  for  greater  EU 
investment  in  environmental  protection  is  the  lowest  in 
the EU (78 % vs the EU-28 average of 85 %). 

European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 

Through  17  national  and  regional  programmes,  the  UK 
has been allocated EUR 16.44 billion from ESIF funds for 
2014-2020. This means that with its national contribution 
of  EUR 10.24  billion,  the  UK  has  a  total  budget  of 
EUR 26.69 billion to invest in various areas, such as SME 
low-carbon 
support, 
economy,  sustainable  land  management  in  agriculture 
and  forestry,  energy  efficiency,  active  inclusion  and 
education and training. 

sustainable  employment, 

the 

EU funds are a key asset for protecting the environment 
in  the  UK 136 .  One  of  the  Commission’s  investment 
priorities  for  the  UK  in  2014-2020  is  to  preserve  and 
protect 
resource 
the  environment  and  promote 
efficiency.  To  this  end,  ESIF  funds  for  the  UK  focus  on 
improving  the  condition,  extent  and  resilience  of  sites 
that  are  important  for  nature  conservation  and  for 
providing ecosystem  services. The aim is to get  the best 
possible  societal  and  economic  benefits  (via  green 
infrastructure)  and  help  businesses  to  improve  their 
resource efficiency and reduce waste to reduce pressure 
on the environment137. 

Innovation and the low-carbon economy are key areas to 
consider  when  estimating  environmental  spending.  The 
ERDF  allocates  EUR 1.32  billion  to  the 
low-carbon 
economy as well as EUR 86 million to climate adaptation 
and  EUR 143  million  to  environmental  measures.  In 
addition,  around  5.5 %  of  the  ERDF  budget  is  used  for 
sustainable urban development. 

Cohesion policy 

Rural development 

The UK receives around EUR 11.8 billion from EU sources 
in total cohesion policy funding for 2014-2020, including 
EUR 866 million for European Territorial Cooperation and 
EUR 4.9  billion  from  the  ESF.  It  manages  16  Operational 
Programmes,  out  of  which  twelve  are  funded  under  the 
Investment for Jobs and Growth goal (ERDF and ESF) and 
four  are 
the  European  Territorial 
Cooperation goal (ERDF). 

funded  under 

Figure 21: ESIF 2014-2020 – EU allocation by theme, UK 
(EUR billion) 135 

134 European Investment Bank, European Fund for Strategic 
Investments, 2016. 
135 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 
Data By Country. 

27 

four 

regional 

In  the  UK,  rural  development  policy  is  implemented 
development 
through 
separate 
Ireland, 
programmes  (RDPs)  (for  England,  Northern 
rural 
Scotland  and  Wales).  The  management  of 
development 
is  a  devolved  area  of  policy.  Rural 
Development  is  incorporated  in  the  UK  Partnership 
Agreement which sets a framework for how the UK plans 
and prioritises European Structural and Investment Funds 
from 2014 to 2020. Each devolved administration have a 
National  Rural  Network,  these  networks  meet  regularly 
and form a UK NRN138. 

The UK’s four RDPs outline the country-level priorities for 
2014-2020  and  how  the  available  funding  comprised  of: 
(i)  EUR 7.191  billion  from  the  EU  budget  which  includes 
EUR 2.317  billion  transferred  from  the  UK  envelope  for 
CAP direct payments; (ii) EUR 1.353 billion of national co-
funding; and (iii) EUR 320 million of national funding top-
ups139, will be used. 

The  latest  financial  data  available  (for  2007-2013)  show 
that  the  absorption  rate  of  rural  development  funds  in 
the UK was 97.9 %, close to the EU average of 97.3 %140. 

136 ‘The objectives of the ESI Funds shall be pursued in line with the 
principle of sustainable development and with the Union’s promotion 
of the aim of preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the 
environment, as set out in Article 11 and Article 191(1) TFEU, taking 
into account the polluter pays principle’ Article 8, Reg. (EU) No 
1303/2013. 
137 Government of the United Kingdom, International treaty, European 
Structural and Investment Funds: UK partnership agreement, 2014 to 
2020  
138 Government of the United Kingdom , Rural Development Programme 
for England  
139 European Commission, Rural development 2014-2020: Country files  
140 COM(2017) 0554. 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

The respective RDPs outline the four countries’ priorities 
for  using  over  EUR 9  billion  EAFRD  funds  available  for 
2014-2020. Of the available funds, 16 % will be allocated 
to  AECMs,  more  than  6 %  to  organic  farming,  0.5 %  to 
Natura  2000  areas  and  water  framework  payments  and 
16 % to ANCs. 

On integrating environmental concerns into the CAP, the 
two  key  areas  are:  (i)  to  use  the  EAFRD  to  pay  for 
environmental 
other 
land  management 
environmental measures; and (ii) to ensure that the first 
pillar  of  the  CAP  is  implemented  effectively  for  cross-
compliance and first pillar ‘greening’. 

and 

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 

The  UK  receives  EUR 243 million  in  co-financing  for  the 
fisheries and maritime sector141. This has helped finance 
initiatives that benefit the environment, such as projects 
supporting  innovation  in  the  aquaculture  sector  to  help 
improve 
impact. 
EUR 19 million  are  spent  on  creating  environmentally 
sustainable, resource-efficient, innovative aquacultures. 

environmental 

sector’s 

the 

The Connecting Europe Facility 

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is a key EU funding 
instrument  developed  specifically  to  direct  investment 
into 
digital 
infrastructures. It aims to address identified missing links 
and bottlenecks and promote sustainability. 

transport, 

European 

energy 

and 

By the end of 2017, the UK had signed agreements for 48 
projects amounting to EUR 348 million (GBP 305 million) 
under the CEF142. 

Horizon 2020 

The  United  Kingdom  has  benefited  from  Horizon  2020 
funding  since  the  programme  started  in  2014.  As  of 
January  2019,  2 428  participants  have  been  granted  a 
maximum  amount  of  EUR 966  million  for  projects  from 

141 European Commission, UK EMFF Fact Sheet 
142 UK European Semester Country Report 2018. 

28 

the  Societal  Challenges  work  programmes  dealing  with 
environmental issues143 144.  

In  addition  to  the  abovementioned  work  programmes, 
climate and biodiversity expenditure is present across the 
entire  Horizon  2020.  In  the  United  Kingdom,  projects 
accepted  for  funding 
in  all  Horizon  2020  working 
programmes until December 2018 included EUR 1 billion 
destined  to  climate  action  (19.9 %  of  the  total  Horizon 
2020 contribution to the country) and EUR 165 million for 
biodiversity-related  actions  (3.2 %  of  the  Horizon  2020 
contribution to the country)145. 

improve  the 
Certain  Horizon  2020  projects  aim  to 
environment.  Projects 
in  the  UK,  or  with  British 
participation, include: (i) the FAIRWAY146 study that looks 
at  agricultural  practices  for  the  use  of  pesticides  and 
nitrogen  to  address  major  environmental  and  health 
challenge;  and  (ii)  the  ECO-COMPASS  project 147  to 
develop eco-friendly bio-based materials for aircraft. 

LIFE programme 

Since  its  launch  in  1992,  the  LIFE  programme  has  co-
financed a total of 244 projects in the UK. Of these, 162 
have focused on environmental innovation, 68 on nature 
conservation  and  biodiversity  and  eight  on  information 
and  communication.  Four  were  operating  grants  for 
NGOs.  An  integrated  project  and  a  preparatory  project 
have  also  been  co-funded  by  the  EU  since  2014.  These 
projects cost a total of EUR 570 million, of which the EU 
contributed EUR 262 million. 

To  date,  LIFE’s  environment  and  resource  efficiency 
strand has co-financed 162 UK projects costing a total of 
EUR 308  million,  of  which  the  EU  provided  EUR 123 
million. LIFE’s nature and biodiversity component has co-
financed 68 UK projects at a total of EUR 221 million, of 
which the EU contributed EUR 118 million. 

For  2014-2017,  the  EU  has  allocated  EUR  82  million  to 
British  projects 148 .  The  UK's  largest  LIFE  grant  was 
awarded  to  ‘MoorLIFE2020’149,  with  a  total  budget  of 
EUR 16  million.  It  aims  to  conserve  and  protect  the 
priority  active-blanket-bog  habitat  in  the  South  Pennine 

143 European Commission own calculations based on CORDA (COmmon 
Research DAta Warehouse). A maximum grant amount is the maximum 
grant amount decided by the Commission. It normally corresponds to 
the requested grant, but it may be lower. 
144 i.e. (ii) Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine 
and maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy; (iii) 
Secure, clean and efficient energy; (iv) Smart, green and integrated 
transport; and (v) Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and 
raw materials. 
145 European Commission own calculations based on CORDA (COmmon 
Research DAta Warehouse). 
146 EU funded FAIRWAY project. 
147 EU project ECO-COMPASS. 
148 Commission services based on data provided by EASME. 
149 European Commission, MoorLIFE2020. 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

Moors’  Natura  2000  site  and  the  ecosystem  services  it 
provides. It will protect the  integrity of around 9 500 ha 
of the target habitat. 

in  place 
Completed  LIFE  nature  projects  have  put 
protective  measures  for  habitats,  coastlines,  estuaries 
and  rivers  (e.g.  Irfon)  and  for  species  conservation  and 
restoration  (such  as  island  seabirds,  Atlantic  salmon, 
capercaillie,  the  freshwater  mussel  and  the  great 
bustard).  Two  projects  produced  strategic  plans  to 
manage  and  restore  all  SPAs  and  SACs  in  England  and 
Wales. 

European Investment Bank 

In  2018  alone,  the  EIB  group  (the  European  Investment 
Bank  and  the  European  Investment  Fund) 
invested 
EUR 1.55 billion in the UK economy150. Of this, 1.5 % went 
to  environmental  projects,  12.3 %  was 
in 
infrastructure,  44  %  in  innovation  and  42 %  in  British 
SMEs.  Over  the  past  5  years  (2011-2015)  the  EIB  has 
invested EUR 29.1 billion in the British economy, of which 
25 % was for waste, sewage and urban projects. 
Figure 22: EIB loans to the UK in 2018151 

invested 

European Fund for Strategic Investments 

Investments 

Operations approved in the UK under the European Fund 
for  Strategic 
(EFSI)  represent  a  total 
financing  volume  of  EUR 2.3 billion  as  of  January  2019. 
in 
This 
investments152. 

trigger  EUR 21  billion 

is  expected 

to 

The  Calvin  Smartmeter  framework  facility  supports  the 
roll-out of smart gas and electricity meters for a number 
of energy suppliers in Great Britain. The EUR 52 million of 
EFSI financing is expected to trigger a total investment of 
about EUR 2.1 billion. 

National environmental financing 

(the 

annual 

average 

The  UK  spent  EUR 17.6  billion  on  environmental 
protection in 2016, a 13 % decrease from 2015153. 77.8 % 
of these payments were allocated to waste management 
activities 
of 
environmental spending allocated to waste management 
in  the  EU  is  49.7 %).  EUR 145.2  million  was  allocated  to 
reducing  pollution.  4 %  of  environmental  spending  was 
allocated  to  protecting  biodiversity  and  the  landscape 
(EUR 702.9  million)154.  Between  2012  and  2016,  general 
government  funding  for  environmental  protection  was 
EUR 89.5 billion155. 

percentage 

A  wide  range  of  projects  have  received  national  or 
regional funding for green investment aims. For example: 

 

The  Big  Tree  Plant  is  a  funding  scheme  by  the 
Forestry Commission, which ran from 2011 to 2015. 
The scheme was managed by Groundwork London. It 
provided  up  to  GBP 4  million  in  grants  to  plant  at 
least 1 million new trees in urban areas. 

 

 

Ireland, 

the  Department 

  Under  the  2015  call  for  infrastructure  innovation 
projects,  NERC  provided  GBP 1.2  million  in  funding 
for  projects  that  improve  green  infrastructure  in 
urban areas.  
for 
In  Northern 
Infrastructure has created a small grants programme 
to  help  Councils  develop  ‘greenway’  schemes.  The 
Big  Lottery  Fund,  Belfast  City  Council  and  the 
Department for Social Development funded the GBP 
40  million 
‘Connswater  Community  Greenway 
project’. 
In 2012, following a national competition, funding of 
GBP 7.5  million  was  awarded  to  12  new  nature 
improvement  areas 
in  England.  This  generated 
significant additional investment from other sources. 
In  London,  the  Big  Green  Fund  put  GBP 3 million 
towards  creating  high  quality  open  spaces  in  11 
areas.  The  Mayor,  Sadiq  Khan,  allocated  grants  of 
GBP 750 000  for  planting  trees  and  woodlands  in 
London.  The  Great  Outdoors  programme  was 
It  received 
financed  using  regeneration  funds. 
further  support  from  Housing  Zones,  Pocket  Parks, 
Big  Green  Fund,  Help  a  London  Park,  the  Forestry 
Commission’s  RE:LEAF  community  grant  scheme 
which provided grants of GBP 2 000 to GBP 10 000 to 
projects  promoting  tree  and  woodland  projects, 
Capital Clean-Up and the Mayor’s Air Quality Fund. 
  Between  2012  and  2015,  the  Department  for 
(DEFRA) 
Environment,  Food  and  Rural  Affairs 
commissioned  a  series  of  payments  for  ecosystem 

 

150 European Investment Bank: The European Investment Bank in the 
United Kingdom. 
151 EIB, The UK and the EIB, 2018. 
152 European Commission, UK EFSI factsheet. 

153 Eurostat, General Government Expenditure by function, 2018. 
154 No data is available on the funds used for waste water management. 
155 Eurostat, General Government Expenditure by function, 2018. 

29 

 
 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

services  pilot  projects 
application of the concept in new contexts. 

test 

to 

the  practical 

  Several  water  companies  have  invested  in  green 
infrastructure. For example, the ‘Upstream Thinking’ 
management  scheme  by  South  West  Water  and 
EnTrade,  which  is  an  online  trading  platform  that 
enables farmers to bid for Wessex Water funding for 
cover crops to reduce nutrient leaching156. 

As  it  has  been  mentioned  in  the  report,  one  of  the 
challenges  for  the  United  Kingdom  is  to  ensure  that 
environmental  financing  remains  at  an  adequate  level. 
Existent  financial  gaps  in  water  quality  are  delaying  the 
correct  implementation  of  EU  environmental  law  and 
policies.  Therefore,  ensuring  financial  resources  to 
reduce the implementation gap should be considered as 
a priority for the country. 

2019 priority action 

 

Take steps to secure financing of implementation of 
the measures needed for the timely achievement of 
the objectives in the Water Framework Directive and 
the Floods Directive. 

156 The Biodiversity Information System for Europe. 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

5. Strengthening environmental governance 

Information, public participation and access to 
justice 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they  can  rely  on  the  three  ‘pillars’  of  the  Aarhus 
Convention:  
(i) access to information;  
(ii) public participation in decision making; and  
(iii) access to justice in environmental matters.  

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and  business  that  environmental  information  is  shared 
efficiently  and  effectively157.  Public  participation  allows 
authorities  to  make  decisions  that  take  public  concerns 
into account. Access to justice is a set of guarantees that 
allows  citizens  and  NGOs  to  use  national  courts  to 
protect the environment158. It includes the right to bring 
legal challenges (‘legal standing’)159. 

Environmental information 

In  the  UK,  the  portals  that  disseminate  environmental 
information  are  set  up  separately.  Therefore,  the  user 
needs to visit a number of different portals to gather the 
necessary  information.  Moreover,  most  of  these  sites 
only  provide  policy-related  documents,  so  if  someone 
wants to find information about monitoring they need to 
search the UK’s main data portal160. In most cases there is 
no  link  between  the  policy-related  sites  and  the  sites 
containing data. In general, it is easy to find the required 
information.  However,  information  is  very  limited  for 
some  policy  areas,  such  as  chemicals.  Where  available, 
the information is generally easy to access, download and 
communicate about, but licensing policies are unclear for 
some environment-related data sets. 

The UK’s implementation of the INSPIRE Directive leaves 
room  for  improvement.  The  accessibility  of  spatial  data 
through  ‘view  and  download’  services  is  poor.  The  UK’s 
performance  has  been  reviewed  based  on  its  2016 
implementation report161 and its most recent monitoring 
data  from  2017162.  The  UK  has  made  good  progress  in 

157 The Aarhus Convention, the Access to Environmental Information 
Directive 2003/4/EC and the INSPIRE Directive 2007/2 together create a 
legal foundation for the sharing of environmental information between 
public authorities and with the public. This EIR focuses on INSPIRE. 
158 The guarantees are explained in Commission Notice on access to 
justice in environmental matters, OJL 275, 18.8.2017 and a related 
Citizen’s Guide. 
159 This EIR looks at how well Member States explain access to justice 
rights to the public, and at legal standing and other major barriers to 
bringing cases on nature and air pollution. 
160 Government of the United Kingdom, data portal . 
161 European Commission, INSPIRE UK country sheet 2017. 
162 INSPIRE monitoring dashboard. 

data  sharing  and 
identification  and 
reuse,  data 
documentation of data. Additional efforts are needed to 
make data accessible through services. The UK also needs 
to  make  additional  efforts  to  prioritise  environmental 
datasets 
implementation  of  environmental 
legislation.  In  particular,  it  needs  to  prioritise  datasets 
identified as high-value spatial data sets163. 

the 

in 

Figure  23:  Access  to  spatial  data  through  view  and 
download services in the UK (2017)  

Public participation 

In  the  UK,  public  participation  provisions  for  the 
environment  are  introduced  in  many  individual,  sector-
specific  pieces  of  environmental  legislation  and  related 
procedures.  The  UK  has  90  pieces  of  transposition 
legislation  listed  on  the  EUR-LEX  website164 and  this  list 
may not be exhaustive. 

In  general,  the  UK  has  a  strong  culture  of  public 
consultation  on  policy  decisions  and  new  policy 
frameworks. It has long been viewed as good practice to 
consult  the  public  before  decisions  are  taken.  A  short 
statement  of  principles  on  the  public  consultation 
approach165 to  be  followed  is  available  on  a  central  web 
page  along  with  all  ongoing  consultations  by  the 
government 166 .  There  is  no  specific  requirement  to 
publish data on public participation (and the UK does not 
currently collate this data centrally) but there are specific 
consultation  requirements  that  apply  in  the  UK  that  are 
set  out  in  domestic  regulations.  These  specify  that  the 
public,  in  all  cases,  must  be  given  sufficient  opportunity 

163 European Commission, List of high value spatial data sets. 
164 EUR-LEX, UK transposition legislature. 
165 Government of the United Kingdom, Consultation principles: 
guidance. 
166 Government of the United Kingdom, Publications: all consultations. 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

to  provide  written  representations  on  all  environmental 
(EIA)  projects,  and  plans  or 
impact  assessment 
programmes  which 
strategic 
environmental assessment (SEA).  

subject 

are 

to 

The  Eurobarometer  figures  from  2017  show  that  people 
in the UK agree very strongly (93 % of respondents) that 
an 
in  protecting  the 
environment. This is a significant improvement compared 
with 2014. 

individual  can  play  a  role 

Access to justice 

The UK government’s website includes information from 
individual  UK  departments.  However,  it  does  not  have 
any  information  for  the  general  public  on  their  right  to 
access  to  justice  on  environmental  matters.  Neither  the 
Ministry of Justice nor DEFRA appear to have developed 
any  transparent  or  user-friendly  documentation  on  the 
subject. 

The  system  of  judicial  review  is  the  main  means  for 
individuals  or  environmental  organisations  to  challenge 
public  authorities’  decisions.  This  includes  enforcement 
authorities’  decisions  not  to  take  action  against  private 
bodies  responsible  for  pollution  or  other  environmental 
is  not 
infringements.  However,  the 
concerned  with  the  merits  of  a  decision  or  whether  the 
public  body  has  made  the  ‘right’  decision.  The  only 
question before the Court is whether the public body has 
acted unlawfully. The Court is not expected to substitute 
its judgment for that of the decision-maker. 

judicial  review 

In  the  last  few  years,  while  acknowledging  its  Aarhus 
Convention  obligations,  the  government  has  made  it  a 
policy  to  reduce  the  number  of  judicial  review  cases 
brought in general. In 2013, the government carried out a 
public consultation on a range of possible changes to the 
judicial  review  system167,  including  a  more  restrictive 
approach  to  standing.  Many  responses  to  the  public 
consultation were somewhat critical of the government’s 
positions. However, the government pointed out that the 
changes to the cost structure for judicial review aimed in 
part  to  reduce  the  number  of  cases  brought  by  those 
without  a  direct  interest  in  the  outcome.  The  standing 
rules  remain  fairly  liberal,  notwithstanding  the  2013 
policy debate about possible restrictions. The limitations 
of the process have been underlined by the UK’s decision 
to leave the EU. 

The general principle that applies to civil cases in the UK 
—  which  includes  the  judicial  review  of  administrative 
decisions  —  is  that  each  party  pays  its  own  legal  costs. 
Costs  orders  at  the  end  of  proceedings  may  require  the 
losing side to meet part or all of the winning side’s costs. 

167 Ministry of Justice: ‘Judicial Review: Proposals for further reform’, 
October 2013. 

Courts  may  also  make  a  ‘protective  costs  order’  which 
limits the potential costs faced by a claimant, particularly 
in cases which raise issues of general public importance. 
Legal aid has been progressively withdrawn from judicial 
review  cases,  and  is  now  only  available  in  some  cases 
where  the  claim  could  potentially  provide  a  meaningful 
benefit  for  the  individual,  a  member  of  the  individual’s 
family or the environment. 

faced  by  claimants 

To address concerns about costs in environmental cases, 
the  government  introduced  a  new  environmental  costs 
protection regime in 2013. This allows the Court to fix the 
in  environmental  cases. 
costs 
However,  this  system  was  considered  insufficient  in 
meeting the access to justice requirements of Directives 
96/61  (IPPC)  and  85/337  (EIA)  by  a  CJEU  judgment 
(11 April 2013, case C-260/11). The UK subsequently tried 
to  bring  the  environmental  costs  protection  regime  in 
line  with  the  CJEU  ruling,  through  new  Regulations 
adopted  in  2017168.  However,  those  were  also  found  to 
be  partly  deficient  by  a  High  Court  judgment  in  July 
2017 169 ,  leading  the  UK  to  amend  them  further  in 
2018170. 

Despite  the  government’s  efforts,  high  costs  are  the 
in 
biggest  barrier  to  an  effective  access  to  justice 
environmental matters. In some situations, the costs can 
be considered prohibitively expensive. 

2019 priority actions 

 

Improve  access  to  spatial  data  and  services  by 
making  stronger  links  between  the  central  INSPIRE 
website and regional portals. Identify and document 
all  spatial  datasets  required  for  the  implementation 
law 171 .  Make  the  data  and 
of  environmental 
documentation  at  least  accessible  ‘as  is’  to  other 
public  authorities  and  the  public  through  the  digital 
services set out in the INSPIRE Directive. 

  Better inform the public about their rights to access 
justice,  notably  in  relation  to  air  pollution  and 
nature.  Ensure  that  prohibitive  costs  are  not  a 
barrier to environmental litigation. 

168 UK, The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules, 2017. 
169 UNECE, RSPB, Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth v Secretary of State 
[2017] EWHC 2309. 
170 The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules, 2018.  
171 European Commission, INSPIRE. 

32 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

Compliance assurance 

to  ensure 

Environmental compliance assurance covers all the work 
that 
undertaken  by  public  authorities 
industries,  farmers  and  others  fulfil  their  obligations  to 
protect  water,  air  and  nature,  and  manage  waste172.  It 
includes  support  measures  provided  by  the  authorities, 
such as:  
(i) compliance promotion173;  
(ii) inspections and other checks that they carry out, i.e. 
compliance monitoring174; and  
(iii)  the  steps  that  they  take  to  stop  breaches,  impose 
sanctions  and  require  damage  to  be  remedied,  i.e. 
enforcement175.  
Citizen  science  and  complaints  enable  authorities  to 
liability 176 
focus  their  efforts  better.  Environmental 
ensures that the polluter pays to remedy any damage. 

Compliance promotion and monitoring 

information 

The  quality  of  online  information  given  to  farmers  on 
how to comply with obligations on nitrates and nature is 
an 
indicator  of  how  actively  authorities  promote 
compliance in areas with serious implementation gaps. In 
is  easily  accessible  and 
England,  such 
comprehensive.  For  nitrate  vulnerable  zones,  detailed 
information177 can  be  found  by  searching  the  ‘gov.uk’ 
website, using terms such as ‘nitrates’, or ‘fertiliser use’. 
The  site 
land 
managers  can  check  whether  their  land  is  in  a  nitrate 
vulnerable,  by  entering  the  postcode,  address,  or  map 
coordinates.  Farmers  and  land  managers  can  also  get 
free  (online)  advice  from  the  Farm  Advice  Service,  on 
how  to  meet  the  cross-compliance  requirements  for 
payments under the CAP. The cross-compliance guidance 
for  2018178 clearly  sets  out  what  farmers  need  to  do  to 
comply  with  nitrate  vulnerable 
(statutory 
management requirements (SMR) 1). 

interactive  map  so  that 

includes  an 

zones 

This  cross-compliance  guidance  also  includes  detailed 
information  on  SMR2  on  the  Birds  Directive,  and  SMR  3 
on  the  Habitats  Directive.  However,  for  these,  the 
for  nitrate 
requirements  are  much  simpler 

than 

172 The concept is explained in detail in the Communication on ‘EU 
actions to improve environmental compliance and governance’ 
COM(2018)10 and the related Commission Staff Working Document, 
SWD(2018)10. 
173 This EIR focuses on the help given to farmers to comply with nature 
and nitrates legislation. 
174 This EIR focuses on inspections of major industrial installations. 
175This EIR focuses on the availability of enforcement data and co-
ordination between authorities to tackle environmental crime. 
176 The Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/EC, creates the 
framework. 
177Government of the United Kingdom, Guidance: Using nitrogen 
fertilisers in nitrate vulnerable zones. 
178 Government of the United Kingdom, The guide to cross compliance 
in England 2018, pp 39 ff. 

vulnerable  zones,  as  they  only  consist  of  the  need  to 
comply with management notices and getting permission 
from  Natural  England  before  carrying  out  specified 
operations. 

Major  industrial  installations  can  be  a  serious  pollution 
risk. Public authorities must have plans in place to inspect 
these  installations  and  to  make  individual  inspection 
reports available to the public179. Inspection plans are not 
regularly published in the UK. However, the Environment 
Agency  in  England  publishes  a  statement  of  how  it  uses 
risk  assessment  to  plan  its  compliance  and  enforcement 
activities. This statement  includes information on how it 
plans  inspections180.  Results  of  specific  inspections  are 
not  routinely  published  but  there  is  a  public  register  of 
permit-related 
inspection 
information can be searched electronically182.  

information 181

and 

, 

Citizen science and complaint handling 

Engaging  the  general  public  through  citizen  science  can 
increase knowledge about the environment and help the 
authorities  in  their  work.  The  UK  Earth  Observation 
Framework,  a  partnership  of  policymaking  and  research 
bodies  funded  by  the  Natural  Environment  Research 
Council  and  DEFRA,  has  set  up  a  citizen  science  working 
group  and  published  a  guide  to  using  citizen  science183. 
Citizen  science  is  used  extensively  in  biodiversity.  Data 
provided  by  volunteers  has  long  been  used  in  annual 
surveys  of  wild  bird  populations  and  more  recently  for 
studies  on  coccinelidae.  The  public  also  provides 
information on the spread of plant diseases (for example, 
ash dieback, and diseases affecting horse chestnut trees). 

The availability of clear online information about how to 
make a  complaint  shows how responsive authorities are 
to complaints from the public. In England, information on 
complaints  about  environmental  nuisances  and  reports 
of  environmental  damage  is  available  on  the  ‘gov.uk’ 
website and can be found through a number of different 
to  make  an 
word  searches 
an 
environmental 
‘Report 
incident’  webpage  184  provides 
the 
environmental 

(for  example 
complaint’). 

‘how 
The 

179 Article 23, Industrial Emissions Directive2010/75/EU. 
180 Environment Agency, ‘Environmental Permitting Regulations 
Operational Risk Appraisal (Opra for EPR), version 3.91’, April 2017,  
181 Government of the United Kingdom, Register of enforcement actions 
182 To pinpoint specific types of offence, the user would need to know 
the name of the implementing legislation in England. The entries on the 
register provide a simple summary of the action taken (caution; 
enforcement notice; court case), but do not provide any detailed 
documentation. 
183 Tweddle, J.C., Robinson, L.D., Pocock, M.J.O. & Roy, H.E (2012). 
Guide to citizen science: developing, implementing and evaluating 
citizen science to study biodiversity and the environment in the UK. 
Natural History Museum and NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology for 
UK-EOF. 
184 Government of the United Kingdom, Report an environmental 
incident. 

33 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

Environment  Agency  hotline  number,  as  well  as 
information on the types of issues that should be routed 
to 
local  government  enforcement  departments  (for 
example,  littering  incidents).  A  similar  webpage  and 
hotline  are  run  by  SEPA 185  and  Natural  Resources 
Wales186 and.  A  more  limited  webpage,  mainly  focusing 
on water pollution, is available in Northern Ireland, along 
with a hotline.  

Enforcement 

When  monitoring 
identifies  problems,  a  range  of 
responses  may  be  appropriate.  In  the  UK,  several  tools 
have  been  developed  that  allow  the  user  to  select  the 
appropriate enforcement measure to effectively tackle a 
specific  type  of  non-compliance.  For 
instance,  the 
for  environmental  crimes, 
guidance  on  penalties 
developed  by  the  UK  Sentencing  Council  and  the  SEPA 
compliance-spectrum-model  for  analysing  the  causes  of 
non-compliance,  help  ensure 
is 
targeted and proportionate. The Environment Agency187, 
SEPA,  and  Natural  Resources  Wales  all  publish  annual 
activity  reports.  These  generally 
include  summary 
statistics on enforcement action188. Detailed statistics on 
the  numbers  and  severity  of  specific  cross-compliance 
breaches  on  nitrates  (SMR1),  birds  (SMR2)  and  habitats 
(SMR3)  are  published  annually  in  the  cross  compliance 
pages on GOV.UK189. 
However,  structured  statistics190 on  responses  to  cross-
compliance breaches on nitrates and nature  seem to be 
lacking. 

that  enforcement 

is  especially  challenging. 

Tackling  waste,  wildlife  crimes  and  other  environmental 
It  requires  close 
offences 
cooperation  between  inspectors,  customs  authorities, 
police  and  prosecutors.  In  the  UK,  the  National  Wildlife 
Crime  Unit  supports  police  forces  across  the  UK  on 
dealing with wildlife crime. It publishes an annual public 
version of its assessment of wildlife crime intelligence191. 

185 The Scottish Government, Report an environmental incident. 
186 Natural Resources Wales, Report an Incident. 
187 UK Environment Agency, ‘Regulating for people, the environment, 
and growth’, 2017. 
188 However, it is not possible to identify detailed information broken 
down by types of incident, and types of offence. An annual activity 
report for the Northern Ireland Environment Agency has not been 
found on the relevant official websites. 
189 Government of the United Kingdom, Collection Cross compliance. 
Data can be accessed via the main Cross Compliance page (), by 
choosing a year for which inspections are complete e.g. 2017, going to 
that page, scrolling down for a link to detailed breach rate data. Data is 
available for 2015, 2016 and 2017. 
190 A table with information setting out the failures recorded in respect 
of each aspect of cross compliance in England is available online but it 
does not indicate the follow-up action taken. Scotland, similarly, has 
uncommented data on cross compliance failures, but with no indication 
of the follow-up action taken. 
191Government of the United Kingdom, National Wildlife Crime Unit 
(NWCU)Tactical Assessment, 2017. 

In addition, the UK Partnership for Action against Wildlife 
Crime,  brings  together  a  number  of  statutory  and 
voluntary  bodies  (police,  UK  Border  Agency,  DEFRA, 
Home  Office,  Natural  Resources  Wales,  Scottish  Natural 
Heritage,  the  Joint  Nature  Conservation  Committee, 
Royal  Botanic  Gardens  Kew,  the  Welsh  government, 
Natural  Resources  Wales, 
Ireland 
Environment  Agency,  and  environmental  and  animal 
welfare NGOs) to discuss how to improve cooperation.  

the  Northern 

On preventing, investigating and enforcing wildlife crime, 
a  memorandum  of  understanding 192 sets  out  Natural 
England and Natural Resources Wales roles and approach 
to cooperation as well as that  of the Crown Prosecution 
Service  and  the  police  forces.  For  waste  crimes,  the 
available information can be found in the reports of the 
main implementation bodies, although a clear distinction 
is  not  always  made  between  different  types  of  offences 
or  enforcement  measures.  Furthermore,  the  reports  do 
not  provide  detailed 
information  on  cooperation 
arrangements for tackling waste crime. 

Environmental liability 

The  Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  establishes  a 
framework  based  on  the  ‘polluter  pays’  principle  to 
prevent  and  remedy  environmental  damage.  The  2017 
EIR 
information  on 
environmental  damage,  on 
financial  security  and 
guidance.  

focused  on  gathering  better 

2019 priority actions 

  Better 

inform 

information  on 

the  public  about 

compliance 
promotion,  monitoring  and  enforcement.  At  a 
minimum  this  should  involve  providing  more  online 
information  on  inspection  plans  and  reports  on 
industrial  inspections.  Similarly,  it  should  involve 
the  outcomes  of 
publishing 
enforcement action . 
Ensure  more 
is  available  on  how 
professionals  dealing  with  waste  crime  work 
together. 
Improve  financial  security  for  liabilities  and  ELD-
guidance  and  publish  information  on  environmental 
damage. 

information 

 

 

192 Government of the United Kingdom, The Memorandum of 
Understanding. 

34 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

Effectiveness of environmental 
administrations 

in 

involved 

implementing 

environmental 
Those 
legislation at EU, national, regional and local levels need 
to have the knowledge, tools and capacity to ensure that 
the  legislation  and  the  governance  of  the  enforcement 
process bring about the intended benefits. 

Administrative capacity and quality 

Central, regional and local administrations must have the 
ability  to  carry  out  their  own  tasks  and  work  effectively 
with  each  other  within  a  system  of  multi-level 
governance. 

In  general,  the  UK  has  a  good  track  record  for 
communicating new implementing legislation on time. 

The UK currently has 12 open infringements in the areas 
of  water,  urban  waste  water  treatment,  ambient  air 
quality,  nature 
environmental 
assessments. 

conservation 

and 

Individuals  or  NGOs  have  brought  environmental  cases 
before  the  national  courts  in  recent  years.  In  some  of 
these  cases,  the  UK 
judges  referred  requests  for 
preliminary rulings to the Court of Justice of the EU. This 
was  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  development  of  EU 
environmental  law,  since  preliminary  rulings  enable  the 
Court of Justice to give a consistent interpretation of the 
EU law. 

Coordination and integration 

As  mentioned  in  the  2017  EIR,  the  transposition  of  the 
revised  EIA  Directive  2014/52/EU 
law 
provides an opportunity for countries to streamline their 
regulatory  framework  on  environmental  assessments. 
The  UK  has  now  notified  measures  to  transpose  the 
Directive. 

into  national 

the 

in  environmental  assessments 

streamlining  of 
The  Commission  encourages 
environmental  assessments  to  reduce  duplication  and 
avoid  overlaps 
for 
projects.  Streamlining  helps  to  reduce  unnecessary 
It  also  accelerates  decision 
administrative  burden. 
making,  without  compromising  the  quality  of  the 
environmental  assessment  procedure. 
In  2016,  the 
Commission  published  guidance 193  for  setting  up 
are 
coordinated 

joint  procedures 

and/or 

that 

193 Commission notice — Commission guidance document on 
streamlining environmental assessments conducted under Article 2(3) 
of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (Directive 
2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, as 
amended by Directive 2014/52/EU). 

simultaneously  subject  to  assessments  under  the  EIA 
Directive,  the  Habitats  Directive,  the  Water  Framework 
Directive, and the Industrial Emissions Directive. 

Adaptability, 
(eGovernment) 

reform 

dynamics 

and 

innovation 

According  to  the  Commission’s  assessment  of  digital 
public  services,  the  UK’s  score  is  lower  than  the  EU-28 
average.  In  the  DESI  Report  2018,  the  United  Kingdom 
had a score of 57 out of 100 on digital public services, EU 
average being 58194. 
However, this contrasts with the information provided in 
the UK’s 2016 eGovernment survey, which shows the UK 
to  be  the  highest  ranked  Member  State  for  both 
eGovernment and eParticipation. 

The  2017  digital  strategy’s  annexes  do  not  set  out 
examples  of  progress 
in  the  area  of  environment. 
However,  examples  of  services  available  online  include: 
(i)  agricultural  grants 
(including  agri-environment 
payments) under the CAP; (ii) the Environment  Agency’s 
flood warning maps; and (iii) a  range of registration and 
permitting  functions  (for  example,  waste  transfers, 
registering  as  a  carrier  of  waste,  environmental  permits 
including  for  the  Industrial  Emissions  Directive,  water 
abstraction licences etc.). 

Enabling financing and effective use of funds 

Although  there  is  information  on  funding  opportunities 
linked  to  the  environment,  the  available  information  is 
scattered  on  a  number  of  government  sites.  The 
approach  to  using  funds  to  improve  the  environment 
varies across the four countries of the UK. 

for 

the  grants  available 

A  government  webpage  on  organic  farming  provides 
information  on 
rural 
development  in  England.  However,  no  information  on 
funding  opportunities  linked  to  the  environment  or 
environmental 
the 
government’s  website.  Information  provided  by  England 
on  EU  structural  funds  does  not  mention  funding 
opportunities for environmental projects and information 
on LIFE is practically non-existent. 

is  provided  on 

investments 

The  Scottish  government  has  a  comprehensive,  but  not 
very  up-to-date,  website  with  funding  opportunities 
linked  to  the  environment  and  to  climate.  The  SEPA 
website  also  has 
information  about  some  funding 
opportunities.  The  Welsh  government’s  website  does 
funding 
have 
opportunities  linked  to  environment.  Its  up-to-date  web 
page sets out  the types of grants available and provides 
information  on  who  has  received  funding  in  the  past.  It 

information  on 

accessible 

easily 

194 European Commission, Digital Economy and Society Index Report 
2018, Digital Public Services. 

35 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

also has a subsection on funding for green infrastructure 
development  and  on  EU  funding.  Northern  Ireland’s 
Environment  Agency’s  website  has 
information  on 
available grants for energy efficiency, but not on funding 
linked  to  the  environment  or 
opportunities  directly 
environmental investments.  

in  2010 

The  UK  Government  announced 
the 
establishment  of  a  Green  Investment  Bank,  with  an 
endowment  of  public  funds,  and  the 
intention  to 
mobilise  private  sector  investment  to  support  the  UK’s 
transformation  to  a  green  economy.  The  Bank,  when 
established  in  2012,  was  allocated  up  to  £3.8bn  of 
funding to support investments, and between 2012-2017 
committed  £3.4bn  of  funding  to  support  projects  worth 
over  £12bn,  a  mobilisation  ratio  of  £3  of  third  party 
invested.  In  2017  the  UK 
funding  for  every  £1 
Government sold GIB to Macquarie group, moving it into 
the  private  sector  where  it  is  now  known  as  the  Green 
Investment Group and is an independent entity. A special 
share,  held  by 
independent  trustees,  preserves  the 
original mission and green purposes of GIB, and the new 
Green Investment Group has expanded into Europe, Asia 
and America. 

it 

2019 priority action 

  UK  can  further  improve  its  overall  environmental 
governance 
citizen 
as 
engagement,  compliance  and  enforcement,  as  well 
as administrative capacity and coordination). 

transparency, 

(such 

International agreements 

The  EU  Treaties  require  the  EU  environmental  policy  to 
promote  measures  at  international  level  to  deal  with 
regional or worldwide environmental problems. 

The EU is committed to strengthening environmental law 
and its implementation globally. It therefore continues to 
support  the  Global  Pact  for  the  Environment  process, 
which  was  launched  by  the  United  Nations  General 
Assembly  in  May  2018195.  The  EIR  is  one  of  the  tools  to 
ensure  that  the  Member  States  set  a  good  example  by 
respecting  European  Union  environmental  policies  and 
laws and international agreements.  

The  UK  has  signed  but  not  yet  ratified  the  Protocol  on 
SEA to Espoo Convention and the first (2014) and second 
(2017) amendments to the Espoo Convention. 

195 UN General Assembly Resolution 72/277 and Organizational session 
of the ad hoc open-ended working group.  

36 

Forests:  EU  Timber  Regulation  (EUTR)196/  Forest  Law 
Enforcement,  Governance 
(FLEGT) 
Regulation197 

Trade 

and 

In accordance with the EUTR, which prohibits the placing 
illegally  harvested  timber, 
on  the  EU  market  of 
competent  authorities 
in  EU  Member  States  must 
conduct  regular  checks  on  operators  and  traders,  and 
apply penalties in case of non-compliance. 

Between March 2015 and February 2017, the UK carried 
out a total of 184 planned checks on operators importing 
timber. These checks focused on oak flooring, rosewood, 
timber  from  Cameroon,  South  America,  Ukraine,  the 
Russian  Federation  and  Myanmar.  They  also  focused  on 
previously  non-compliant  operators  or  supply  chain 
issues.  However,  the  number  of  checks  is  low  when 
compared  with the  estimated number of operators  who 
import  timber  into  the  UK198.  The  UK  did  not  report  the 
estimated number of operators of domestic timber or the 
number of checks conducted on these operators. 

At  77,  the  UK  reported  the  highest  number  of  penalties 
on imported timber. 

collaborated  with 

On  cooperation  (Article 12  of  the  EUTR),  the  UK  reports 
various  government 
to  have 
institutions  within  the  UK.  It  has  also  cooperated  with 
other  EU  competent  authorities,  mainly  through  the 
FLEGT/EUTR  expert  group  meetings  and  the  ad  hoc 
expert group on FLEGT. 

Genetic  resources:  Nagoya  Protocol  on  Access  to 
Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of 
Benefits Arising (ABS)199  

The UK has appointed a competent authority for genetic 
resources and has applied sanctions for infringements of 
the  Regulation.  The  government  has  put  in  place  a  risk-
based  plan  for  checks  and  has  conducted  such  checks 
(on-site visits and inspections). However, the UK has not 
submitted a due diligence declaration to date, nor has it 
applied  any  penalties.  The  UK  submitted  its  first  ABS 
Regulation  implementation  report  to  the  Commission  at 
the end of 2017. 

196 Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 20 October 2010. 
197 Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 of 20 December 2005 on the 
establishment of a FLEGT licensing scheme for imports of timber into 
the European Community. 
198 Based on customs’ data, it was estimated that 6’000 operators 
imported timber. 
199 Regulation (EU) No 511/2014 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 16 April 2014 on compliance measures for users from the 
Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and 
Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation in the Union 
Text with EEA relevance. 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – United Kingdom 

summaries of the Single Departmental Plans on GOV.UK, 
which  highlighted  areas  of  Goal  delivery.  The 
Government also updated “Implementing the Sustainable 
Development Goals”202, highlighting some of the ways in 
which  the  Government  will  support  the  delivery  of  the 
Goals through its domestic and international programme. 

The  UK  plans  to  present  a  Voluntary  National  Review  in 
2019. DFID is working closely with the Cabinet Office and 
other Government Departments, and will ensure that the 
Review is holistic and takes account of the UK’s domestic 
and international contributions to this global agenda. 

on 
International  wildlife 
International  Trade  in  Endangered  Species  of  Wild 
Fauna and Flora (CITES)200 

Convention 

trade: 

In  line  with  the  obligations  laid  down  in  the  Basic 
Regulation201which  transposes  the  major  obligations  of 
the  Convention  on  International  Trade  in  Endangered 
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) into EU law, the 
UK  has  established  relevant  national  authorities  and 
regularly  processes  requests  for  import,  re-export  and 
intra-EU trade documents. 

Reports  on  seizures  of  illegal  wildlife  shipments  (in 
particular  those  reported  every  6  months  to  TRAFFIC 
under  its  contract  with  the  Commission  and  those 
exchanged  through  the  EU-TWIX  platform),  show  the 
extent of the customs authorities’ activity. 

the  UK  organises 

To  ensure  the  EU  wildlife  action  plan  (2016)  is  fully 
implemented, 
capacity-building 
activities  for  enforcement  bodies  in  Africa  and  Asia.  For 
example, the British military trains rangers in Gabon and 
Malawi. 

In  May  the  UK  Government  introduced  the  Ivory  Bill, 
which  will  enact  a  ban  in  commercial  dealing  in  ivory  in 
the  UK.  The  ban  is  subject  to  a  small  number  of  narrow 
and  clearly  defined  exemptions  for  items  that  do  not 
contribute  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  poaching  of 
elephants.  The  Government,  through  the  Ivory  Bill,  is 
international 
domestic 
addressing 
commitments. 

both 

and 

Sustainable 
implementation of the UN SDGs 

development 

and 

the 

Sustainable development links environmental, social and 
economic policies in a coherent framework and therefore 
helps  to 
legislation  and 
policies. 

implement  environmental 

The  UK  is  committed  to  the  delivery  of  the  Sustainable 
Development Goals (SDGs). All Government Departments 
have  embedded  the  SDGs  across  their  programme  of 
work,  namely  through  the  Single  Departmental  Plan 
(SDPs)  process.  This  is  an  established  process  to  focus 
Government’s  efforts  on  important  issues  and  provides 
the  Government’s  planning  and 
the  basis 
performance  framework.  In  their  plans,  Departments 
highlight  how  the  priority  programmes  and  activities  for 
which  they  are  responsible  will  contribute  towards 
delivery  of  the  Goals.  Reflecting  the  conclusions  of 
Departmental  business  planning  processes  for  2018/19, 
on  the  23rd  May,  the  Government  published  high-level 

for 

200 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of 
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 
201 Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna 
and flora by regulating trade therein (the Basic Regulation). 

202Government of the United Kingdom, Corporate report, Implementing 
the Sustainable Development Goals - December 2017  

37