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This Act implements the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction in the UK.
The Act amended marine licensing and environmental impact assessment legislation to require potential impacts on marine areas outside national jurisdictions to be considered. The Act also aims to facilitate the fair sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources.
These regulations amend the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018.
Amongst other changes, the environmental authorisations regime is applied to fish farm discharges throughout the Scottish Marine Area. Permits for waste management facilities need to include conditions requiring systems to identify and manage radioactive contamination in waste.
These regulations will prohibit the sale and supply of wet wipes containing plastic for domestic use in most cases. These restrictions mirror bans being applied elsewhere in the UK, albeit from different dates.
These regulations amended the European Union (Renewable Energy) Regulations (2) 2022. These amendments increase targets on the average annual increase in the share of renewable energy used in heating and cooling across the Republic of Ireland.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is also required to assess the potential for energy from renewable sources and the use of waste heat and cold in the heating and cooling sector.
This order will expand the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) to include emissions from qualifying domestic maritime activities.
These requirements will apply to qualifying ships of 5,000 GT or greater and will exclude voyages with a port of call outside the UK.
These regulations will apply the first phase of the mandatory digital waste tracking system in Scotland.
The first phase will apply to all waste received at permitted facilities carrying out a waste activity (‘waste receivers’). Digital waste records will need to be recorded on the system for waste received.
Regulation (EU) 2025/1988 amended the REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 to apply restrictions on Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in firefighting foams.
Restrictions will be phased in on the sale and use of PFAS-containing firefighting foams, with applications being restricted in most cases from 23 October 2026.
These regulations allow data centre projects to be authorised via the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project regime under the Planning Act 2008, when directed by the Secretary of State.
Where a direction is made, planning for prescribed projects will not be determined as a planning application to the local planning authority.
