When the United Kingdom left the European Union in January 2020, it marked the withdrawal of an influential actor in the Union’s climate and energy governance. Since that time, the European Green Deal, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine have impacted EU and UK climate governance, but they have done so in a changed, post-Brexit political landscape in Brussels. This chapter focuses on the concrete impacts of Brexit on climate governance in the EU and the UK. It analyses changes within the EU institutions, non-governmental organisations, and policy processes, as well as the impacts of Brexit on UK domestic climate governance and how developments at both levels might interact as Europe confronts the challenge of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Ala-Kurikka, S. (2015, 1 October). MEP slams climate governance talks. ENDS Europe. www.endseurope.com/article/43403/mep-slams-climate-governance-talks (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
BBC (2021, 19 March). Backlash grows against cut to electric car grants. www.bbc.com/news/business-56441639 (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Bevington, M. (2020, 5 May). British officials in the EU’s institutions. UK in a Changing Europe. https://ukandeu.ac.uk/british-officials-in-the-eus-institutions/ (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Bevington, M. (2021). Whitehall in Brussels: The UK Permanent Representation to the EU. London: UK in a Changing Europe.
Beyers, J., & B. Kerremans (2012). Domestic embeddedness and the dynamics of multilevel venue shopping in four EU Member States. Governance, 25 (2): 263–290. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.2011.01551.x.
Blake, J., & J. Parkinson (2021, October 19). Net zero announcement: obstacles facing the UK government’s plans. BBC. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58967560 (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Bocse, A.-M. (2020). The UK’s decision to leave the European Union (Brexit) and its impact on the EU as a climate change actor. Climate Policy, 20 (2): 265–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2019.1701402.
Bressanelli, E., N. Chelotti & W. Lehmann (2021). Managing disintegration: how the European Parliament responded and adapted to Brexit. Politics and Governance, 9 (1): 16–26. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v9i1.3684.
Burns, C., N. Carter & N. Worsfold (2012). Enlargement and the environment: the changing behaviour of the European Parliament. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 50 (1): 54–70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5965.2011.02212.x.
Burns, C., & V. Gravey (2021, 23 November). The Environment Act: Finally Here but What Comes Next for UK Environmental Governance? Sheffield: Brexit & Environment.
Burns, C., V. Gravey, A. J. Jordan, & A. Zito (2019). De-Europeanising or disengaging? EU environmental policy and Brexit. Environmental Politics, 28 (2): 271–292. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2019.1549774.
Buzogány, A., & S. _etkovi_ (2021). Fractionalized but ambitious? Voting on energy and climate policy in the European Parliament. Journal of European Public Policy, 28 (7): 1038–1056. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2021.1918220.
Cembureau (2021, August 24). Our members. https://web.archive.org/web/20210824072712/https://cembureau.eu/about-us/our-members/.
Colley, T. (2022, 18 May). Energy secretary set to ‘classify natural gas as sustainable investment’. ENDS Report. www.endsreport.com/article/1756438/energy-secretary-set-classify-natural-gas-sustainable-investment (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Council of the European Union (2017). Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC to enhance cost-effective emission reductions and low-carbon investments – General approach (No. 6841/17). http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-6841-2017-INIT/en/pdf.
Delbeke, J., O. Hartridge, J. G. Lefevere, D. Meadows, A. Runge-Metzger, Y. Slingenberg, M. Vainio, P. Vis, & P. Zapfel (2006). EU Environmental Law: The EU Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme. Deventer, Netherlands: Claeys & Casteels.
Department for Exiting the European Union. (2019). UK officials will stop attending most EU meetings from 1 September. Department for Exiting the European Union. www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-officials-will-stop-attending-most-eu-meetings-from-1-september (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Department of Energy and Climate Change. (2014). UK Vision for Phase IV of the EU ETS (URN [14D/190]). www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-vision-for-phase-iv-of-the-eu-ets.
Dupont, C., & B. Moore (2019). Brexit and the EU in Global Climate Governance. Politics and Governance, 7 (3): 51–61. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v7i3.2137.
ENDS Europe (2016, 20 October). Duncan seeks compromise on ETS indirect cost compensation. ENDS Europe. www.endseurope.com/article/47402/duncan-seeks-compromise-on-ets-indirect-cost-compensation (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Ernhede, C. (2022, 31 May). Taxonomy: momentum in Parliament builds to block inclusion of gas and nuclear. ENDS Europe. www.endseurope.com/article/1788308/taxonomy-momentum-parliament-builds-block-inclusion-gas-nuclear (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Eurelectric (2021, 26 January). Our members. Eurelectric. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126171857/www.eurelectric.org/membership/our-members/.
European Commission (2014a). A Policy Framework for Climate and Energy in the Period from 2020 to 2030. COM(2014) 15. Brussels: European Commission.
European Commission (2014b). Stakeholder Consultation Analysis: Emission Trading System (ETS) Post-2020 Carbon Leakage Provisions. Brussels: European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/clima/files/docs/0023/stakeholder_consultation_carbon_leakage_en.pdf.
European Commission (2016). Human Resources Key Figures: Staff Members. Brussels: European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/european-commission-hr-key-figures_2016_en.pdf.
European Commission (2019). The European Green Deal. COM (2019) 640 final. Brussels: European Commission.
European Commission (2021). ‘Fit for 55’: Delivering the EU’s 2030 Climate Target on the Way to Climate Neutrality, COM (2021) 550 final. Brussels: European Commission.
European Commission (2021a). Human Resources Key Figures: Staff Members. Brussels: European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/european-commission-hr_key_figures_2021_en.pdf.
European Commission (2021b). Infringement procedure [Text]. European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-making-process/applying-eu-law/infringement-procedure_en.
European Commission (2021c). Summary Report on the Public Consultation on Updating the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). Brussels: European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12660-Updating-the-EU-Emissions-Trading-System/public-consultation_en.
European Commission (2021d, 30 August). Recovery and Resilience Facility. https://web.archive.org/web/20210830131617/https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/recovery-coronavirus/recovery-and-resilience-facility_en.
European Environment Agency (2021). EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) data viewer. www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/dashboards/emissions-trading-viewer-1.
EuroStat (2018). Population on 1st January by Age, Sex and Type of Projection. http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=proj_15npms&lang=en.
EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (2020). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2021:149:TOC.
EU–UK Withdrawal Agreement (2020). https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/relations-non-eu-countries/relations-united-kingdom/eu-uk-withdrawal-agreement_en.
Farstad, F., N. Carter, & C. Burns (2018). What does Brexit mean for the UK’s Climate Change Act? The Political Quarterly, 89 (2): 291–297. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.12486.
Fitch-Roy, O., & J. Fairbrass (2018). Negotiating the EU’s 2030 Climate and Energy Framework: Agendas, Ideas and European Interest Groups. Cham: Palgrave MacMillan.
French Government & UK Government (2016). Implementation of tiered free allocation in Phase IV of EU ETS: A joint non-paper by France and the United Kingdom.
Gabbatiss, J. (2021, June 24). CCC: UK will miss climate goals by ‘huge margin’ without new policies. Carbon Brief. www.carbonbrief.org/ccc-uk-will-miss-climate-goals-by-huge-margin-without-new-policies.
Gulbrandsen, L. H., J. Wettestad, D. G. Victor & A. Underdal (2019). The political roots of divergence in carbon market design: Implications for linking. Climate Policy, 19 (4): 427–438. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2018.1551188.
Gullberg, A. T. (2015). Lobbying in Oslo or in Brussels? The case of a European Economic Area country. Journal of European Public Policy, 22 (10): 1531–1550. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2015.1025092.
Hayward, K. (2021, July 26). Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland and the new command paper. UK in a Changing Europe. https://ukandeu.ac.uk/command-paper/ (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Hutton, G., C. Rhodes, M. Ward, & P. Bolton (2021). UK Steel Industry: Statistics and Policy (CBP 7317). House of Commons Library.
Interim Office for Environmental Protection. (2021, August 26). Office for Environmental Protection. Office for Environmental Protection. www.theoep.org.uk/ (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Jordan, A. J., & B. Moore (2020). Regression by default? An analysis of review and revision clauses in retained EU environmental law. Norwich: Brexit & Environment.
Jordan, A. J., & B. Moore (2020). Durable by Design? Policy Feedback in a Changing Climate. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Khan, M., L. Noonan, P. Foster, & G. Parker. (2021, 30 June). Brussels calls temporary truce in Brexit ‘sausage wars’. Financial Times.
Le Quéré, C., G. P. Peters, P. Friedlingstein, R. M. Andrew, J. G. Canadell, S. J. Davis, R. B. Jackson, & M. W. Jones (2021). Fossil CO2 emissions in the post-COVID-19 era. Nature Climate Change, 11 (3): 197–199. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01001-0.
Morgan, S. (2020, January 30). EU bank rides out Brexit impact ‘surprisingly well’, says EIB chief. Euractiv. www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/eu-bank-rides-out-brexit-impact-surprisingly-well-says-eib-chief/ (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Müller, P. & P. Slominski (2015). Theorizing third country agency in EU rule transfer: linking the EU Emission Trading System with Norway, Switzerland and Australia. Journal of European Public Policy, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2015.1066838.
Murgia, M., & J. Espinoza (2021, 26 August). EU takes aim at UK plan to rewrite data laws. Financial Times. www.ft.com/content/f344f7ea-2829-46d2-8943-26b73c5804da (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Oberthür, S., & C. Dupont (2021). The European Union’s international climate leadership: towards a grand climate strategy? Journal of European Public Policy, 28 (7): 1095–1114. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2021.1918218.
Rayner, T., M. D. Leiren, & T. H. Inderberg (2020). The United Kingdom: from market-led policy towards technology steering. In E. L. Boasson, M. D. Leiren, & J. Wettestad (Eds.), Comparative Renewables Policy: Political, Organizational and European Fields (pp. 103–125). Abingdon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Reuters. (2019, 10 May 10). Tusk sees chances of UK remaining in EU at 20–30%: Daily. Reuters. www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-tusk/tusk-sees-chances-of-uk-remaining-in-eu-at-20-30-daily-idUSKCN1SG1AE.
Rietig, K. (2021). Accelerating low carbon transitions via budgetary processes? EU climate governance in times of crisis. Journal of European Public Policy, 28 (7): 1018–1037. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2021.1918217.
Rutter, J. (2020, October 28). Singapore on Thames is dead, long live Singapore on Thames. UK in a Changing Europe. https://ukandeu.ac.uk/singapore-on-thames-is-dead-long-live-singapore-on-thames/ (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Sabbati, G., & K. Grosek (2020). The European Parliament after Brexit [European Parliament Members’ Research Service]. European Parliament.
Twidale, S., & H. Jones (2021, 8 February). Carbon futures trading leaves London for EU in latest Brexit market move. Reuters.
UK Government (2021a). UK enshrines new target in law to slash emissions by 78% by 2035. www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-enshrines-new-target-in-law-to-slash-emissions-by-78-by-2035 (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
UK Government (2021b, August 2). Participating in the UK ETS. www.gov.uk/government/publications/participating-in-the-uk-ets/participating-in-the-uk-ets (Accessed: 19 September 2022).
Wettestad, J., & T. Jevnaker (2019). Smokescreen politics? Ratcheting up EU emissions trading in 2017. Review of Policy Research, 36 (5): 635–659. https://doi.org/10.1111/ropr.12345.