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Originally Posted by judy84
The EU has launched legal proceedings against the British Government for repeatedly breaking the bloc’s tight air pollution rules.
EU judges in Luxembourg will be able to hit Britain with huge fines under the bloc’s “infringement proceedings”.
The EU's ruling's will continue after brexit.Barnier said in order for a trade deal to be signed Britain would have to continue to comply with the EU’s environmental regulations.
He said there could be no reduction in environmental standards after Brexit as Britain could otherwise seek a “competitive advantage” over its neighbours.
Barnier added a “non-regression clause” must be included in the EU’s agreement on the future relationship with the UK to guard against a softening of rules.
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The EU is not seeking revenge or punishment for Brexit. You understand that Germany and France have also breached EU rules on air pollution and are sued like the UK. I have no problem with those EU environmental laws. Lung cancer is a major cause of death in the UK and in Europe in general. Those EU laws are good for the citizens.
The alternative for the UK is to diverge from EU laws and turn Brexit into a race to the bottom (i.e. fuck health and the environment, let's make plenty of money). To clarify, Barnier did not say that complying with EU environment laws was a sine qua non condition for a trade deal, but if the Brits reject those laws, they will only get a weak deal. The French, the Spaniards, the Italians are not interested in buying chlorinated chicken, hormone-injected beef and other substandard products. It may be good for the British economy but not for EU citizens.
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Originally Posted by judy84
Some thoughts:
Wonder how much of this pollution is due to the German car industry lying about emissions. If proven could the UK lay a claim against Germany for damages?
Do they insist that every third party they have trade deals with must also abide by EU emissions regulations to reduce competitive advantage? If not, why not?
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The German car industry has been the most stained by the diesel emissions scandal. However, there were other nations guilty of cheating:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_emissions_scandal
So I'm glad that Volkswagen had to pay a hefty fine. But keep in mind that pollution mostly remains local. If London produces a lot of pollution, the bulk of that pollution will remain around London. PM10 particles only travel 30 miles maximum, while PM2.5 particles can travel hundreds of miles:
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/what...-matter-551513
If pollution could spread evenly, then the UK would have the same pollution level everywhere, which is not the case. Air pollution in Cornwall is much lower than in London.
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Originally Posted by judy84
One point to note we have millions of EU citizens living in the UK and they add to the pollution levels. Do we get “pollution credits” from the countries they have come from? Can we pro rata any fines to these countries as their citizens are contributing?
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Your comments about pollution from EU citizens don't make any sense and reek of europhobia. First, those EU citizens are impacted by their own pollution and by the pollution produced by the Brits. And second, what should we say about British expats living in EU countries? And can the UK seriously claim the moral high ground when it is more polluted than Ireland and Norway?
Go to page 80 for air pollution in Europe:
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/h...B75?sequence=1