Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to ensure that UK maintains all EU climate change and environmental regulations in UK law after the UK leaves the EU.

The EU (Withdrawal) Bill will ensure existing EU environmental law continues to have effect in UK law after exit, providing businesses and stakeholders with maximum certainty as we leave the EU.

Leaving the EU will not change any of our domestic statutory commitments to reduce our emissions, as laid out in the Climate Change Act 2008 – indeed, those commitments are more ambitious and challenging than those set by EU legislation.

We have no intention of weakening our current environmental protections as we leave the EU. The UK has a long history of environmental protection and we will safeguard and improve on this record. As my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister stated, ‘Brexit will not mean a lowering of environmental standards’.