Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth - News

EU referendum  23rd June 2016

We cannot be sure but what we do know is the current Conservative Government would allow the use of bee-harming pesticides and has frequently argued against the precautionary principle which is enshrined in the EU treaty. We also know that many of the supporters of Brexit, in particular UKIP, argue against manmade climate change as was so clearly demonstrated at our recent assembly election hustings. We have already seen withdrawal of support for renewable energy. What we risk is the  rolling back of many environmental laws in order to increase the UK’s competitive advantage, the all out pursuit of economic growth and policies that fail to tackle climate change and thus in the long run undermine global stability and render parts of the world uninhabitable thus deepening the current world refugee crisis.

So what happens if we stay in?

Friends of the earth argue that on balance we should stay in and join forces with the Green movements across Europe to argue for the EU to prioritise taking care of our shared global environment and improving the quality of people’s lives in a way that can be sustained. From within the EU we can fight for stronger environmental laws, a move away from growth and free trade at any price, and more democracy within the EU.

It was interesting and inspiring to hear the views from across the political spectrum at the Friends of the Earth Road show. All of the speakers, who included Jill Evans, Plaid Cymru member of the European Parliament who sits with the Greens, John Gummer, now Lord Deben who is Chairman of the UK's independent Committee on Climate Change, Rachel Sharp CEO of the Welsh Wildlife Trust and finally Huw Davies Labour AM for Ogmore, argued that to protect the future of our beautiful Welsh environment  in our globalised world, we should remain within the EU, fighting for the policies and changes that are needed to protect this precious environment for our children and grandchildren.

Rebecca Cadbury

For more information go to:

The EU Referendum and the Environment Charlotte Burns

European Environment Agency(2013) Late lessons from early warnings: science, precaution and innovation

FoE's EU Referendum Blog




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