Withdrawal Deal a “significant threat to the environment”
Craig Bennett said: "Boris Johnson's renegotiated Withdrawal Deal is a significant threat to the environment after Brexit. While not as catastrophic as a No-Deal departure, it is worse than Theresa May’s deal which had a binding commitment to maintain environmental standards during the transition period and if a trade deal with the EU hadn't been finalised.
"The removal of the backstop from the UK means that from December 2020 there will be nothing to ensure that vital protection for nature and people won't simply be whittled away to please big business or traded for a quick and dirty trade deal with Donald Trump.
"The government keep promising that Brexit and future trade deals won't lead to a slashing of environmental protection, but they consistently refuse to put in place the legal means to stop that happening."
ENDS
For more information and interview requests contact the Friends of the Earth press office on 020 7566 1649/07718 394786 (out of hours – please do not text this number) [email protected].
Notes to editors:
- Friends of the Earth is part of the Greener UK coalition which today (18 October) circulated a briefing on the Environmental implications of the new UK-EU deal which concludes that the overall risk to the environment is high.