Environmental Policy and Law

Environmental policy and law is a rapidly expanding field that is becoming central to successful business management. The first part of the module will concentrate on the political and legislative structure that initiates, implements, polices or influences environmental law in the UK. It also takes into account the great influence that European policy has on present UK environmental policy. The second half of the module then concentrates on the actual regulations, laws and stated policy frameworks that influence how the environment is managed.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Critically evaluate the use of Common Law system to protect the environment and human health
• Demonstrate a critical understanding of current environmental/health issues and how policy and legislation are used to mitigate the potential impacts
• Critically evaluate the role and effectiveness of the main institutions and frameworks for implementing appropriate interventions.

Topics covered may include:

• The nature of Environmental Policy and Law: introduction, history, principles, sources, institutions and organisations in environmental law
• International environmental law: history, sources, international law and the European Union, international law and the UK, major international agreements
• European environmental law: developments, review, EU environmental law and the UK
• Regulation of environmental law: standards and standard-setting, enforcement, mechanisms to monitor and improve regulation
• The UK Legislative Framework and the environment: sources, classification and associated judicial systems, interpretation, enforcement, environmental policy and regulatory regime, Common Law in the protection of the environment
• Town and country planning: planning objectives and the environment, development - planning application and permission, appeal, planning law and environmental protection
• Environmental assessment: legal mechanisms of environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA)
• Industrial Pollution Control regimes: Environmental Permitting: Integrated Pollution Control (IPC), Integrated Pollution Prevention and  Control (IPPC), environmental permitting regulations and enforcement
• Air quality and climate change, waste, contaminated land, water, noise: legislation, regulation, management
• Nature Conservation: legal protection, regulation, management
• Organisational management in an environmental management/health context: environmental management in practice, the future of environmental law and its regulation.