Well before the U.K. voted to leave the E.U. last week, environmentalists and climate scientists were warning of the fallout for climate efforts should the country vote “leave”. Here, Blouin News provides a brief overview of the leading concerns among the environmental preservation community following the outcome of the Brexit referendum:
The National Geographic quotes Myles Allen of the University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute noting a top worry for scientists:
My main concern in the big picture is potential damage to the U.K.’s reputation as a destination for top-flight researchers. Researchers put a lot of emphasis on the ability to recruit and ability to travel, and if these changes affect our ability to recruit the best and brightest of the world’s academics, then we’re in trouble.
The same concern can be applied to technologists in the U.K. who were hoping to elevate the country’s status as a major global player in tech. Many fear that the U.K.’s clean tech and green markets will suffer economically in addition to talent-wise with its departure from the E.U. (Note that the green economy in the U.K. has been steadily developing and the country has been paving the way for clean tech in vehicles.) The uncertainty as to how these markets will continue to build out runs deep.