The UK now faces dirtier rivers, more polluted air, and higher levels of pesticides in soil compared to many EU member states.
Nearly 25,000 people have signed a petition urging the UK government to form a formal environmental partnership with the European Union. The campaign, titled ‘One Earth. One Team’ was launched by European Movement UK, and calls for urgent cooperation to protect nature, reduce pollution, and cut energy bills through greater use of clean energy.
At the heart of the movement is growing public concern over the state of the UK’s environment, particularly the continued discharge of untreated sewage into rivers and coastal waters. In 2024 alone, sewage was spilled into the River Mersey nearly 1,900 times. Campaigners argue that environmental protections in the UK have weakened since Brexit, leading to poorer outcomes for nature and public health.
According to European Movement UK, while the European Union has continued to strengthen environmental safeguards, the UK has largely stalled, and in some cases even proposed rolling back existing standards. As a result, the UK now faces dirtier rivers, more polluted air, and higher levels of pesticides in soil compared to many EU member states.
One example highlighted by the campaign is the EU’s ongoing reform of its Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. The updated directive will extend requirements to smaller communities and introduce binding controls on pollutants like microplastics and pharmaceuticals. In contrast, the UK has yet to develop a similar strategy and has proposed weakening some protections.
Campaigners argue that this regulatory gap is already having real consequences. Water quality is slipping, inspections are being scaled back, and pollution levels are on the rise.
The petition calls on the UK and EU to work together on shared environmental challenges, beginning with a joint plan on energy and climate policy. This would include rejoining the EU’s Emissions Trading System to curb industrial emissions, reconnecting to Europe’s integrated electricity grid to lower costs and improve energy resilience, and learning from EU programmes that provide financial support to households transitioning to cleaner energy.
By re-establishing cooperation, the campaign says, both the UK and the EU can move toward a cleaner, more affordable and more sustainable future, proving that environmental progress is possible when countries work together.
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