Held in partnership with the British Ecological Society and the Sibthorp Trust, last week’s event brought together a cross-party panel for an informative and engaging debate on the post-Brexit future of the UK’s environment.
From subsidies for agriculture and protected areas for wildlife, to clean rivers, streams and bathing waters, policies developed in the European Parliament have a direct influence on the environment in the United Kingdom. Now that the UK has voted to leave the European Union, what are the implications of this ‘Brexit’ for environmental quality and environmental policy, not only in this country but across the remaining 27 Member States?
This was the central question at last week’s People, Politics and the Planet: Any Questions debate, organised in partnership with the British Ecological Society and the Sibthorp Trust, and with support from the Wellcome Trust and the Society for the Environment.
The event was open to all and over 420 people convened at the Society on Thursday 21 July for a fascinating evening, as panellists from across the political spectrum discussed the challenges – and potential opportunities – offered by Brexit for the environment, with the opportunity to put questions to the speakers.
Broadcaster and journalist Jonathan Dimbleby, in the chair for the evening, presided over high quality and robust discussion from our cross-party panel of senior politicians. Topics covered included reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy; the need for better integration between agriculture, food and environmental policy in the UK; animal welfare standards across Europe; and climate policy, where panellists agreed that the UK had generally been a ‘force for good’.
A well-attended drinks reception after the panel discussion, allowed attendees to debate the implications of Brexit late into the evening.
Find out more
· A video recording of the evening’s discussion is available here.