United Kingdom environmental law concerns the protection of the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Environmental law Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the managem ...

is increasingly a European and an international issue, due to the cross border issues of air and

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Wate ...

, and man-made climate change.

History

In the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

, the primary protection was found in the

tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishabl ...

nuisance Nuisance (from archaic ''nocence'', through Fr. ''noisance'', ''nuisance'', from Lat. ''nocere'', "to hurt") is a common law tort. It means that which causes offence, annoyance, trouble or injury. A nuisance can be either public (also "common") ...

, but this only allowed for private actions for damages or injunctions if there was harm to land; thus issues such as smells emanating from pig sties,

strict liability In criminal and civil law, strict liability is a standard of liability under which a person is legally responsible for the consequences flowing from an activity even in the absence of fault or criminal intent on the part of the defendant. Un ...

against dumping rubbish, or damage from exploding dams are included. Private enforcement, however, was limited and found to be woefully inadequate to deal with major environmental threats, particularly threats to common resources. *1306, Edward I briefly banned coal fires in London. *John Evelyn, '' Fumifugium'' (1661) argued for burning fragrant wood instead of mineral coal, which he believed would reduce coughing. *''Ballad of Gresham College'' (1661) describes how the smoke "does our lungs and spirits choke, Our hanging spoil, and rust our iron." *In 1800, one million tons of coal were burned in London, and 15 million across the UK. *Smoke Nuisance Abatement (Metropolis) Act 1853 *

John Snow John Snow (15 March 1813 – 16 June 1858) was an English physician and a leader in the development of anaesthesia and medical hygiene. He is considered one of the founders of modern epidemiology, in part because of his work in tracing the ...

in 1854 discovered that the water pump on Broad Street,

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

was responsible for 616 cholera deaths because it was contaminated by an old cesspit leaking fecal bacteria.

Germ theory of disease The germ theory of disease is the currently accepted scientific theory for many diseases. It states that microorganisms known as pathogens or "germs" can lead to disease. These small organisms, too small to be seen without magnification, invade ...

began to replace miasma theory that had lingered since the Black Death. During the " Great Stink" of 1858, the dumping of sewerage into the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

began to smell so ghastly in the summer heat that Parliament had to be evacuated. The

Metropolitan Commission of Sewers Act 1848 The Metropolitan Commission of Sewers was one of London's first steps towards bringing its sanitary sewer, sewer and drainage infrastructure under the control of a single public body. It was absorbed by the Metropolitan Board of Works on 1 Januar ...

had allowed the Metropolitan Commission for Sewers to close cesspits around the city in an attempt to "clean up" but this simply led people to pollute the river. In 19 days, Parliament passed a further Act to build the

London sewerage system The London sewer system is part of the water infrastructure serving London, England. The modern system was developed during the late 19th century, and as London has grown the system has been expanded. It is currently owned and operated by Thame ...

. *

Alkali Act 1863 The Alkali Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict c 124) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under the Alkali Act 1863, an alkali inspector and four subinspectors were appointed to curb discharge into the air of muriatic acid gas ( gaseous hy ...

and

Alkali Act 1874 The Alkali Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict c 124) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under the Alkali Act 1863, an alkali inspector and four subinspectors were appointed to curb discharge into the air of muriatic acid gas (gaseous hyd ...

, amended 1906 * WS Jevons, '' The Coal Question; An Inquiry Concerning the Progress of the Nation, and the Probable Exhaustion of Our Coal Mines'' (1865) *

Ground Game Act 1880 The Ground Game Act 1880 ('' 43 & 44 Vict.'') is a law that was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1880 by Gladstone's government, as a result of many complaints over many decades about the intolerable amount of damage that farmers ...

, Night Poaching Act 1828, Game Act 1831, game preservation * James Johnston (socialist politician), president of the Smoke Abatement League, international conference in 1911. London also suffered from terrible air pollution, and this culminated in the " Great Smog" of 1952, which in turn triggered a legislative response: the

Clean Air Act 1956 The Clean Air Act 1956 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted principally in response to London's Great Smog of 1952. It was sponsored by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in England and the Department of Heal ...

. The basic regulatory structure was to set limits on emissions for households and business (particularly burning

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as stratum, rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen ...

) while an inspectorate would enforce compliance. It required zones for smokeless fuel to be burned and relocated power stations. *Clean Air Act 1968 required tall chimneys to disperse pollution.

Environmental protection

* Environment Act 1995 *Environmental Damage Regulations (2015) - implement the EU's Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/EC, originally introduced in 2009 and revised in 2015.Adeptus
The Environmental Damage Regulations (2015)
published 22 October 2015, accessed 12 May 2021

Pollution

* Control of Pollution Act 1974 *

Environmental Protection Act 1990 The Environmental Protection Act 1990 ( initialism: EPA) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that defines, within England and Wales and Scotland, the fundamental structure and authority for waste management and control of emissio ...

Wildlife

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species (especia ...

* Weeds Act 1959 *

Badgers Act 1991 Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by t ...

* Protection of Badgers Act 1992 *

Hunting Act 2004 The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the ...

Conservation

Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the laws on granting of planning permission for building works, notably including those of the listed building system in En ...

National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the National Parks Commission which later became the Countryside Commission and then the Countryside Agency, which becam ...

National parks of England and Wales National parks of the United Kingdom ( cy, parciau cenedlaethol; gd, pàircean nàiseanta) are areas of relatively undeveloped and scenic landscape across the country. Despite their name, they are quite different from national parks in many ot ...

and National parks of Scotland *

Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 or AMAAA was a law passed by the UK government, the latest in a series of Ancient Monument Acts legislating to protect the archaeological heritage of England & Wales and Scotland. Northe ...

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), known informally as the CRoW Act or "Right to Roam" Act is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000. Right to roam The Act imp ...

Climate change

Climate Change Act 2008 The Climate Change Act 2008 (c 27) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes it the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that the net UK carbon account for all six Kyoto greenhouse gases for the year 2050 is at ...

Planning and Energy Act 2008 The Planning and Energy Act 2008 (c 21) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 1 - Energy policies Section 1(1) provides: Section 1(2) defines the expressions "Efficient energy use, energy efficiency sta ...

Energy Act 2008 The Energy Act 2008c 32 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 110 - Commencement Orders made under section 110(2)The Energy Act 2008 (Commencement No. 1 and Savings) Order 2009(S.I. 2009/45 (C.4))The Energy Act 2008 (Comm ...

* Energy Act 2010 * Energy Act 2011 See also

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and en ...

European and international law

* European Commissioner for the Environment *

European Climate Change Programme The European Climate Change Programme (ECCP) was launched in June 2000 by the European Union's European Commission, with the purpose of avoiding dangerous climate change. The goal of the ECCP is to identify, develop and implement all the necess ...

Water Framework Directive The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC is an EU directive which commits European Union member states to achieve good qualitative and quantitative status of all water bodies (including marine waters up to one nautical mile from shore) by 2015 ...

Birds Directive The Birds Directive (formally known as Council Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds) is the oldest piece of EU legislation on the environment and one of its cornerstones which was unanimously adopted in April 1979 as the Dire ...

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The ...

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on ...

References

{{reflist English land law