Britain Greener in Europe
About 15 years ago, I was at an international eco-design conference. As I wandered around the poster displays during a coffee break, I came across a young US researcher presenting a study on the then forthcoming EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive.
“Why are Americans so interested in European legislation?” I asked her.
“It’s a massive market and if our brands want to sell there, we’ve got to comply with the legislation.” she replied.
“Ahhhh…” I said as the penny dropped.
Fast forward to today and we in the UK are a month away from a referendum on whether to remain in the EU or leave. I have commented in the past that climate denial and Euroscepticism go hand in hand, and I’m sure that ‘freeing’ the UK of environmental legislation is one of the desires of the ‘Brexit’ crowd.
Except, as we have seen above, we wouldn’t be free at all. If we want to export to Europe, we’ll have to comply with all existing and future legislation, only we would have zero influence over the content of that legislation.
The environmental angle is probably the main reason that I’ll be voting to stay in the EU. The history of the EU has been one of raising the bar on environmental issues, whether on water quality or climate change, rather than the ‘race to the bottom’ we see in other parts of the world. And that combined economic heft means that if the EU decides to ban a toxic substance or insist on recyclability built into products, then the whole world has to sit up and take note. On this at least, the EU is a powerful force for good.
I’m IN.