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Reason number 1 why I want Britain to remain in the EU
There are several reasons why I want Britain to remain in the EU, but this one is head and shoulders above the rest.
I love wildlife and I love people. I want that wildlife to be there for my granddaughter and her descendants to enjoy.
I want us to combat climate change so that there is a chance of reducing (it's already too late to prevent it totally) mass starvation, migration, and death for those in the worst affected areas. I want to reduce the danger of increased floods, droughts, and losses in crop yields. Not to mention mass extinction of wildlife.
Much of our best and strongest environmental legislation comes from the EU.
Organisations like the RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts are pointing this out to their members - I belong to both.
Here's the summary of the report they commissioned.
and a few extracts:
EU environmental legislation has been driven by the single market requiring common rules for products and services –for instance, individual countries cannot distort competition by lowering their environmental standards.
Some of the main contributions of EU legislation to the environment over the years include:
• Achieving a substantial decline in industrial sources of air and water pollution – although there’s further to go, particularly in improving urban air quality and tackling water pollution from farming.
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting rapid growth in renewable energy.
• A significant and extensive system for protecting wildlife and wild places - most notably through the Birds and Habitats Directives - that has helped to slow the loss of some habitats and species and invest resources in nature conservation. However, wildlife is still under significant pressure across Europe and much more needs to be done.
• Transforming waste management – increasing recycling rates and encouraging the first steps towards a more circular economy.
• Creating a thorough system for reviewing chemicals, and withdrawing many toxic substances from use.
• Building a legislative framework to protect our seas from mounting pressures.
I do not believe UK politicians will do this on their own.
The EU isn't perfect (the CAP still needs reform and the fisheries policies has only recently improved,) but the overall environmental record is a good one. If we leave the EU, we will immediately lose the Birds and Habitats Directives and have nothing to replace the protection they give.
I love wildlife and I love people. I want that wildlife to be there for my granddaughter and her descendants to enjoy.
I want us to combat climate change so that there is a chance of reducing (it's already too late to prevent it totally) mass starvation, migration, and death for those in the worst affected areas. I want to reduce the danger of increased floods, droughts, and losses in crop yields. Not to mention mass extinction of wildlife.
Much of our best and strongest environmental legislation comes from the EU.
Organisations like the RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts are pointing this out to their members - I belong to both.
Here's the summary of the report they commissioned.
and a few extracts:
EU environmental legislation has been driven by the single market requiring common rules for products and services –for instance, individual countries cannot distort competition by lowering their environmental standards.
Some of the main contributions of EU legislation to the environment over the years include:
• Achieving a substantial decline in industrial sources of air and water pollution – although there’s further to go, particularly in improving urban air quality and tackling water pollution from farming.
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting rapid growth in renewable energy.
• A significant and extensive system for protecting wildlife and wild places - most notably through the Birds and Habitats Directives - that has helped to slow the loss of some habitats and species and invest resources in nature conservation. However, wildlife is still under significant pressure across Europe and much more needs to be done.
• Transforming waste management – increasing recycling rates and encouraging the first steps towards a more circular economy.
• Creating a thorough system for reviewing chemicals, and withdrawing many toxic substances from use.
• Building a legislative framework to protect our seas from mounting pressures.
I do not believe UK politicians will do this on their own.
The EU isn't perfect (the CAP still needs reform and the fisheries policies has only recently improved,) but the overall environmental record is a good one. If we leave the EU, we will immediately lose the Birds and Habitats Directives and have nothing to replace the protection they give.
no subject
I always vote on environmental issues (because I believe we have to think long term rather than short term and having two year old granddaughter I love to pieces rather focuses the mind on her future world)
Every election, I go and visit web sites comparing where different parties stand on issues like climate change, over-fishing, pollution, etc. and then vote accordingly. It means I can switch off the radio and TV and avoid all the rhetoric.
This time around is no different.
I agree with you totally that we need world-wide co-operation on climate issues. However, I think you've got the wrong end of the stick when you say that the EU has environmental regulations solely for the benefit of commercial competition.
Some regulations definitely fall under that umbrella - rules on things like vehicle exhaust limits are intended to ensure that countries cannot not gain a competitive advantage by having lower standards.
Some EU laws simply impose overall limits on pollution and thus are not commercial in intent. People forget that our air and water got a lot cleaner as EU laws came into action. (England used to have a really bad reputation for air and water pollution)
However, items like the Habitats Directive (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitats_Directive) and the Birds Directive have no commercial or trade angle. They exist to protect wildlife habitats and a lot of areas in the UK are covered by this legislation (and I do mean a lot - list here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Special_Areas_of_Conservation_in_England)
There's a lot of EU legislation relating to climate change (won't bore you with links unless you really want them)
One of the things that really worries me is that UKIP deny climate change. Read their manifesto (http://www.ukip.org/ukip_manifesto_summary). Basically, they want to scrap all legislation to reduce CO2 emissions and protect the climate.
And at that point, my gut says "Stuff the bastards" and votes along with my head.