"Brexit May Make It Harder for U.K. to Tackle Climate Change"

"The U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union could make it more difficult for the country to cope with rising seas, floods and the spread of tropical diseases compounded by climate change, according to government advisers.

The report issued Tuesday by the Committee on Climate Change flags heightened risks the U.K government needs to mitigate as the nation of 64 million people begins the process of withdrawing from the EU following its June 23 referendum.

“The coordination needed to deal with climate change will be more difficult under Brexit,” said University of Leeds professor Andrew Challinor, who helped write the report. “Climate change risks cross international boundaries, and dealing with them requires cross-government and international coordination.”

With 14 of the hottest 15 years globally having occurred since 2000, scientists say the impacts of climate change are already apparent. Those impacts are set to worsen and risks could rise if the U.K. withdraws key EU environmental laws -- covering farming, fishing, water, wildlife and flooding -- without replacing them with legislation that’s equivalent or better, the committee said."

Jessica Shankleman reports for Bloomberg July 11, 2016.