Environmental Principles
In May 2022 the Government published the Draft Environmental Principles Policy Statement[1] to ensure that environmental principles are used consistently across government to guide policymaking whilst supporting innovation and economic growth. The Environmental Principles were introduced within the Environment Act 2021 with their objective being to guide Ministers and policy-makers towards opportunities to prevent environmental damage and enhance the environment, where relevant and appropriate[1].
The five Principles[1] are:
- An integration principle
- A prevention principle
- A rectification at source principle
- The polluter pays principle
- The precautionary Principle
Overview
Environmental Prinicples were first established within the various European Treaties and Directives (and the UK remains bound by a number of international agreements on environmental protection); however the Government made the decision to shape the implementation of environmental principles to domestic circumstances following Brexit with the aim of maintaining a high level of protection for wildlife and the environment[2].
The requirement to have the five Environmental Principles in place is enacted by regulation 17 of the Environment Act 2021 which states that they must contribute to:
- improvement of environmental protection, and
- sustainable development.
The five Environmental Principles
Integration Principle
The integration principle proposes that policymakers should look for opportunities to embed environmental protection in fields of policy that have environmental effects.
Applying the integration principle involves considering whether the policy has the potential to cause a negative environmental effect which could be avoided, minimised or reduced through alterations to the policy in proportion to other policy aims.
Integration may also present an opportunity for policymakers to build environmental protection, maintenance, restoration or enhancement into policies from the outset and throughout the development of policies[1].
In short, the integration principle requires that environmental protection is integrated into all other policy areas, in line with promoting Sustainable Development|sustainable development]][3]. That is to say all government departments and public authorities (such as Local Planning Authorities) have responsibilities to protect our environment.