Alkali Act 1863

         Clean Air Act 1956

         Clean Air Act 1968

         Clean Air Act 1993

         Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005

         Climate Change Act 2008

         Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006

         Energy Act 2010

         Environment Act 1995

         Environmental Protection Act 1990

        Flood and Water Management Act 2010

        Forestry Act 1991

         Ground Game Act 1880

        Hunting Act 2004

         Merchant Shipping (Pollution) Act 2006

         Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006

         Planning Act 2008

         Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999

         Waste Minimisation Act 1998

         Water Act 2003

         Weeds Act 1959

Environmental regulatory framework

Legislation

A significant proportion of environmental legislation in England and Wales originates from EU law, which is directly applicable or implemented through national legislation. The principal environmental regimes are:

         Environmental Permitting Regime (EPR), combining the pollution prevention and control (PPC) regime and waste management licensing and industrial emissions

         Water

         Waste (in relation to aspects not dealt with under EPR)

        Contaminated land

        Conservation of nature, wildlife and habitats.

        Environmental impact assessments (EIAs)

In England the main body responsible for developing environmental policy and drafting environmental legislation is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) although the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy generally handles issues relating to climate change.

Environmental law and practice in the UK (England and Wales) related to Air Pollution: 

Let me present a broad overview of environment law in the UK (England and Wales) related to Air pollution.

The Clean Air Act 1956 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in response to London's Great Smog of 1952. It was in effect until 1964, and sponsored by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in England and the Department of Health for Scotland.

The Act introduced a number of measures to reduce air pollution, especially by introducing "smoke control areas" in some towns and cities in which only smokeless fuels could be burned. By shifting homes' sources of heat towards cleaner coals, electricity, and gas, it reduced the amount of smoke pollution and sulphur dioxide from household fires. Reinforcing these changes, the Act also included measures to relocate power stations away from cities, and for the height of some chimneys to be increased.

The Act was an important milestone in the development of a legal framework to protect the environment.

The Act was repealed in 1993 to consolidate its legislation with other related enactments, especially the Clean Air Act 1968.

Permits and regulator

The environmental permitting regime (EPR) regulates emissions into air for the most polluting installations.

Emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from large combustion plants (over 50 megawatts) are subject to controls imposed by the EPR and EU Directives on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants. See also Question 10 in relation to new controls being placed on smaller combustion plants.

Certain energy and other industrial activities fall within the EU emissions trading scheme and require a greenhouse gas permit.

Prohibited activities

For non-EPR activities, it is an offence to emit "dark smoke" from industrial or trade premises.

Emissions targets

The UK is subject to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets from several sources. It is subject to Kyoto Protocol targets.

Domestically, the Climate Change Act 2008 commits the UK to a 34% reduction in GHG emissions by 2020 and an 80% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050 (in each case as against 1990 levels) (sections 1 and 5, Climate Change Act 2008). The Welsh government in its Climate Change Strategy has set an even higher target for Wales, aiming to reduce GHG emissions by 40% by 2020 against 1990 levels.

The government's Carbon Plan published in December 2011 sets out its strategy on reducing GHG emissions (and other climate change related actions).

In December 2008, the EU unilaterally committed to cut EU GHG emissions by at least 20% of 1990 levels by 2020. As part of the 2030 Climate and Energy Policy Framework, the European Commission and European Council have agreed a commitment to reduce GHG emissions by 40% of 1990 levels by 2030. Following the UK's vote in June 2016 to leave the EU, government statements have confirmed the UK's current commitment to its emission reduction targets.

UK Government's Clean Growth Strategy.

Increasing renewable energy

Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (Renewable Energy Directive) requires renewable energy to form 20% of total EU energy consumption by 2020. The UK's contribution to the EU-wide target is 15% by 2020. In addition, the Renewable Energy Directive imposes an obligation on member states (including the UK) to ensure that at least 10% of overall transport fuel consumption comes from renewable sources (largely to be met by increasing the use of sustainable biofuels). Various UK regulations implement these requirements into domestic law. In the 2030 Climate and Energy Policy Framework, the European Commission and European Council have agreed to increase the 20% renewable energy requirement to 27% by 2030 (on a binding basis at EU level, but not binding against individual member states). This requirement will be reviewed in 2020 and may be increased to 30%. A draft revised Renewable Energy Directive is currently going through the legislative process.

There are no prescriptive requirements for the deployment of certain renewable technologies, instead there is a general policy aim to encourage development of renewable generation capacity. The Renewable Energy Roadmap (published in July 2011 and subsequent updates) sets out the pathway by which the renewable energy targets will be met and it describes the role that various technologies will play in meeting the 2020 targets.

There are various financial incentives to encourage the deployment of renewable energy generation. In particular, the government is pursuing a programme of electricity reform aimed at ensuring security of electricity supply and increasing renewable generation capacity. As part of this programme, a "carbon price floor" was implemented from 1 April 2013. Feed-in tariffs based on contracts for difference started operating in 2015 to incentivise electricity generation from low-emission sources through financial subsidies. An Emissions Performance Standard has also been introduced, limiting carbon emissions from new or altered fossil fuel generating plant of 50 MW or over to 450g/kWh.

Additional strategies on bioenergy and low carbon heat were published in April 2012. There are financial incentives to encourage the uptake of renewable heat both domestically and non-domestically. In October 2017, the government launched its Clean Growth Strategy which relies heavily on investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvement. It was accompanied by decarbonisation plans for seven key individual sectors. The Welsh government has now set a target to produce 70% of its electricity from renewable services by 2030.

Increasing energy efficiency

On 25 October 2012, the EU adopted the Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency. This Directive establishes a common framework of measures for the promotion of energy efficiency within the EU. This is to ensure the EU achieves a 20% headline target on energy efficiency by 2020 and to lead the way for further energy efficiency improvements beyond that date. It lays down rules designed to remove barriers in the energy market and to overcome market failures that hinder efficiency in the supply and use of energy. In particular, the Directive provides for the establishment of indicative national energy efficiency targets for 2020 and a compulsory requirement for large companies to have energy audits every four years. Member states are required to bring into force the laws necessary to comply with the Directive by 25 June 2014 (Article 28(1)). Various measures have been introduced in the UK to implement this Directive.

A draft revised Directive on energy efficiency is currently going through the legislative process which would establish an energy savings target of 27% by 2030 (watering down the 30% target proposed by the Commission in 2014).

There are no specific legally binding national targets for increasing energy efficiency of buildings. However, there are a number of policy measures designed to achieve this objective.

The government hopes that the following types of new building will be zero-carbon:

Non-domestic buildings from 2019.

Public sector buildings from 2018.

Schools from 2016.

These targets will be achieved partly through changes to legally binding building regulations, which are one of the principal methods of establishing energy efficiency standards for buildings. However the government recently scrapped its policy to make new homes zero carbon by 2016.

One of the major policy measures to increase the energy efficiency of existing buildings is the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. Another mechanism put in place was the Green Deal which sought to enable homeowners and businesses to undertake energy efficiency works to their properties and spread the cost over a number of years. However, the future of the Green Deal has been in doubt since the government's July 2015 announcement that it would no longer provide financial support for the Green Deal as it no longer believed the scheme offered good value for taxpayer money. The government is now reviewing the Green Deal and considering other options.

Parties to UNFCCC/Kyoto Protocol

The EU and the UK are parties to the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol.

The EU's reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol was to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 8% from 1990 levels in the period 2008 to 2012 (the first commitment period). The EU's target was redistributed among member states, and the UK agreed to a 12.5% reduction for the first commitment period.

A second commitment period has now been agreed until 2020, with parties setting their own reduction objectives. The overall objective is to reduce GHG emissions by 18% below 1990 levels in the period 2013 to 2020 (the original objective was a 5% reduction below 1990 levels in the first commitment period). The EU member states and Iceland have committed to this target on a joint basis (and to a 20% reduction in the second commitment period, and the EU has pledged to strengthen its commitment to a 30% reduction if a strong international agreement is reached).

Paris Agreement

The EU and UK are parties to the Paris Agreement. The UK ratified the agreement on 18 November 2016. On 5 October 2016, the EU ratified the Paris agreement.

The Paris Agreement provides that the increase of global temperature must be held significantly below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (with an aim to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius), since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change. Further, the parties agreed on the need that global emissions would peak as soon as possible and to reduce emissions rapidly in accordance with the best available techniques/science. The EU expects its 2030 Climate and Energy Policy Framework to form the key mechanisms to implement its post-2020 commitments under the Paris Agreement. When the UK leaves the EU, it will need to decide what additional legal measures are necessary to implement its own commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Implementation

The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) has been implemented at the EU level to reduce emissions, and there have also been domestic measures implemented in the UK.

References:

https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/6-503-1654?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true&comp=pluk&bhcp=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Air_Act_1956

UK Legislation ( http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/4-5/52)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Act_2010