nature

EU Environmental Law
The Birds and Habitats Directives are a global gold
standard in conservation. They confirm that
cross-border cooperation is essential to deal with
many environmental problems. However, not all EU
environmental law is as effective as it could be. In
other areas, it is clear that multi-national co-operation
is helpful, but major reforms are needed:
Common Agricultural Policy: EU farm subsidies are
vital for farmland conservation. However, the system
is mired in its history of production-based subsidy
and needs reforming. Money available for transfer
from direct subsidies (Pillar 1) to payments for good
land management (Pillar 2) should be increased to
25% of the overall budget. This could provide almost
£500 million extra every year for rural development.
In the UK, the Government should transfer the
maximum amount available in this Parliament
to reward farmers who manage the land
most sustainably.
Emissions Trading Directive: The EU Emissions
Trading System (ETS) has led the world in setting
a price for carbon and an overall limit on industrial
emissions. This reduces EU emissions while
avoiding market distortion between Member
States. However, far too many EU Allowances were
released onto the market (initially for free) and too
many offsets were allowed, leading to consistently
low prices. Major change is needed to establish an
effective and reliable market for carbon emissions.
Left: brown hare in grassland.
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