Britain, France, and the European Union - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 99

that the new nations might shortchange their wild treasures through
hunting and economic development. WWF soon expanded its purpose to
encompass wildlife on all continents. The British chapter was its first one,
also established in 1961.
On the other side are interest groups like the Confederation of British
Industry, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and the Country
Land and Business Association. The Confederation is huge, representing
the complete range of industry. It has 13 regional offices, plus branches
in Brussels, Washington, and Beijing. The division of its staff responsible
for environmental issues has its primary liaison with the Department of
Trade and Industry but continually monitors DEFRA. The Motor Society
takes pride in the industry's ability to meet ever stricter emissions stan-
dards, beginning in 1992. These are Europe-wide. The Euro IV standards
came into effect in 2005, resulting in emission reductions greater than
45%. In 1998, British vehicle manufacturers reached an agreement with
European, Japanese, and Korean manufacturers to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions by 25% to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. Because so many
cars are exported, the society must consider European standards at many
points. The Country Land and Business Association, which began in
1907, often is on the other side from the environmentalists. Its motto is
“he rural economy is our business.” It has lobbied for barriers against
public rights of way across privately owned land, under the rationale that
it prevents crime. Reduced property taxes and less onerous reclamation
are other goals.
The United Kingdom has governmental agencies that operate with
various degrees of autonomy. Natural England was established in 2006
from English Nature, the environment parts of the Rural Development
Service and the Countryside Agency's Landscape, Access and Recreation
Division. Its functions are conservation, promoting access, and research.
Britain has a number of organizations between purely governmental and
purely charitable. The jargon term is QUANGO, for quasi-autonomous
nongovernmental organization. There are a thousand of them, a quarter of
the government budget goes to them, and the government often appoints
their directors, decreasing their voluntary and democratic nature.
Britain favors voluntary compliance rather than the firm standards
and enforcement method of the United States and continental coun-
tries. Industry and government experts cooperate in setting the general
requirements, and then a joint working group sets the specific require-
ments for each factory, electric generating plant, or sewer treatment plant.