Commenting on the Scottish Government’s response to its consultation on environmental justice and the decision not to create a specialist environmental court at this time, Jonny Hughes, Chief Executive of the Scottish Wildlife Trust said:

“One of the precise reasons we urgently need an environmental court in Scotland is because of the uncertainty caused by Brexit, and the potential loss of important oversight currently provided by the European Commission. This makes it really hard to understand why the Scottish Government has decided against taking the proposal for an environment court forward at this time.

“Over 40 different countries around the world already have an environmental court or tribunal. These work effectively to ensure that citizens have access to environmental justice, people are protected from the often life changing health impacts of pollution, and threatened wildlife is protected from destruction. I hope the Scottish Government will revisit the need for an environmental court quickly once the ashes from Brexit begin to settle, or preferably sooner.