Chapter 1: The UK environmental legal framework, regulators and advisers

This chapter explains the UK environmental legal framework including European Union (EU) law, the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), legislation and case law. The responsibilities of environmental regulators (local authorities, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales and the Office for Environmental Protection) are outlined, and the role of the environmental advisory bodies (Natural England and the Climate Change Committee) are explained.

The UK environmental legal framework includes EU law, the EU–UK TCA, and UK legislation and case law. The TCA contains a number of provisions relevant to environmental law. The European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 provides that UK law is amended as necessary to comply with the UK’s obligations under the TCA.