Abstract/Summary

Brexit is likely to have a significant impact on the environment. In the current article I argue against seeing the traffic as all one- way. While there was a temptation for the advocates of staying in the European Union (EURemainers), in the context of referendum campaigning, to portray the United Kingdom (UK) as a laggard pressured into positive environmental performance by the EU as leader, the reality is that the UK has also strengthened the EU’s environmental policy in some areas and seen its own weakened in others. Influence in both directions has also varied over time. The article goes on to consider core ‘Leave’ arguments around sovereignty and ‘taking back control’, exploring the implications of these in the specific context of environmental governance.