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Information about what the UK's exit from the European Union (Brexit) may mean for you
Updated 25 January 2021
UK Government has announced that a trade deal has been agreed for the UK’s exit from the EU. We are reviewing the deal to understand how changes and new duties will impact our work and the work of our stakeholders. We'll continue to update this page as we know more.
Welsh Government has said there will be no change to the level of environmental protection, nor to environmental standards in Wales. UK government has also committed to maintaining environmental standards.
Wales' Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation (Natura 2000 sites) will have the same protections they had when the UK was part of the EU.
All permits, licences, consents, registrations, authorisations and exemptions issued by us continue to apply and individuals and operators must comply with any conditions.
In line with our duties and powers we will continue to:
If you have questions about permits, licences or site management contact our Customer Hub.
A UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) replaced the UK’s participation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) on 1 January 2021.
There are key changes affecting existing permit holders including:
Converted permits apply to 2021 emissions only. Operators must still comply with their obligations under the EU ETS for the 2020 scheme year, which ends on 30 April 2021.
Find out more about the UK ETS and complying with existing EU ETS obligations.
As well as DEFRA, Welsh Government has published an explanation of the operational changes made to the Habitats Regulations 2017 (GOV.WALES). Changes include: