ABSTRACT
For the UK, disentangling itself from international environmental agreements concluded by the EU and its Member States will pose many challenges arising from the particularities of this field of international law. Mixed agreements and soft law are the main instruments of the EU’s external action in the field of environmental protection. They made it possible for the EU to protect the global environment by supporting green multilateralism in international conferences and organisations, in particular, those of the United Nations family. They have also been incorporated in EU legislation, strengthening their legal nature and paving their way to national orders and overcoming national positions regarding international law. After Brexit, the UK will have to determine the way it will be bound both by international environmental agreements and soft law, according to the general requirements that have been agreed upon in the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration. International environmental agreements and soft law also play an important role in the first Draft legal agreement for the future EU–UK Partnership presented by the EU as they serve to set out the bases for a common level playing field for the protection of the environment.
