Latest News

MAPPED: The storm overflows that spilled sewage 301,091 times in 2022

Storm overflows in England discharged untreated sewage into rivers and the sea 301,091 times in 2022, official data published this week has revealed. Click through to explore the data using our interactive map

‘Indefensible frequency’: Sewage spilled into England's rivers for 200 years equivalent last year

‘Wilfully misleading’: EA considering enforcement action after new sewage spill data shows poor performance

Greenhouse gas emissions increased by 0.7% in 2022, new data shows

Natural England nutrient credit schemes opens in Teesside to unlock development

Government unveils plans for ‘radical shift’ in UK energy make-up

‘Green Day or Groundhog Day’: Government's net zero plans under fire

Green Finance Strategy 2023: 15 things you need to know

DEFRA’s nature policy has a ‘concerning lack of detail’ on climate impact, warns watchdog

DEFRA ‘pretty clear’ on what REUL law to repeal as it moves to consider reforms

‘Lost decade’: No UK sector is prepared for climate change, warns watchdog

Latest Analysis

‘The system is a farce’: The murky world of failed bathing water applications

DEFRA recently launched a consultation on plans to designate four new bathing water sites, but campaigners whose bids were rejected have been left frustrated by the process, with the department continuing to refuse to engage on its reasoning. Will DEFRA reveal reasons for failed bathing water status? Catherine Early reports

Why the case against Bristol Airport’s expansion is a bellwether for the future of climate litigation

29 Mar 2023 by Nina Pindham
Earlier this year an attempt to halt the expansion of Bristol Airport on climate grounds was quashed in the High Court, but the judge’s opening remarks should give food for thought to any chief executives running a high-emitting company, writes Nina Pindham

DRS disaster: Who wins if UK politics kiboshes Scotland’s deposit return scheme?

22 Mar 2023 by David Burrows
Long-coming plans to refund deposits to those who return plastic bottles and steel cans to collection points have become an unlikely political football in the last month, with the UK government threatening to block the policy in Scotland. David Burrows unpacks how we got here, and the significance of what happens next

Interview: London’s deputy mayor on why City Hall won’t be cowed by ULEZ backlash

22 Mar 2023 by Pippa Neill
Shirley Rodrigues talks to ENDS about ULEZ legal action, DEFRA’s targets, wood burners and whether conspiracy theories could bring down the mayor’s air pollution plans

Nutrient neutrality: Can local mitigation schemes finally unblock the housing logjam?

21 Mar 2023 by James Fair
In the Spring Budget, chancellor Jeremy Hunt promised to provide funding for 'high-quality, locally-led nutrient mitigation schemes', but do these schemes work and will the promise of more funding be sufficient to alleviate the problem? James Fair reports

What are the biodiversity net gain ‘elephant traps’ lying in wait?

14 Mar 2023 by Tess Colley
Delivering a 10% biodiversity net gain on most new developments will become law this year, but Natural England’s chief executive has warned of “elephant traps” that need filling to make the policy a success. But what are they? Tess Colley reports

‘The unethical environmental lawyer’: Does the legal profession need to rethink its green ethics?

13 Mar 2023 by Isabella Kaminski
In a world where the existential threat of climate change and environmental harm is rising up the agenda, do environmental lawyers need to rethink the ethics of their work when batting for clients contributing to the problem? Isabella Kaminski speaks to some of the lawyers asking awkward questions about who should bear responsibility for planetary harms

Most read

Staff at DEFRA to take continuous action short of strike from April

The government is ‘consistently failing’ to complete reviews of environmental laws, finds OEP

DRS disaster: Who wins if UK politics kiboshes Scotland’s deposit return scheme?

Environmental outcomes and ‘golden threads’: 7 things you need to know about EIA reforms

‘Smokescreen’: Campaigners call on Coffey to investigate potential EA conflicts of interest

ECO CHAMBER podcast

ECO CHAMBER PODCAST: DRS disaster, dormice killings and surfing on sewage

Watchdog walkouts, COMAH crisis, and inside Attenborough's Wild Isles

Dark waters, shrew-eating spiders, and DEFRA's 'useless legacy'

Shell sued, wood-burning worries, and DEFRA's dirty data

Trash talk, acronym overload, and DEFRA’s sunset clause strife

Divide and REUL, beaver breakout, and DEFRA’s ‘culture of delay’
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Fines Monitor

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AN ENDS REPORT FILM

SEVERN: The poisoning
of Britain’s Amazon

Now available to view

Case studies

How a Cornish project may provide a solution to disruption fears as the UK phases out gas boilers

How a developer created its first ‘biodiversity bank’ ahead of net gain requirements

The Debrief: How do you solve a problem like Japanese knotweed?

The debrief: How a beaver reintroduction project transformed a polluted protected site in Cheshire

The debrief: How the Greater Manchester Authority mapped the natural habitat on its doorstep

The debrief: How a restoration project removed 150 tonnes of plastic from a Lake District river

Interviews

Interview: George Monbiot on taking the fight to Big Farmer

Interview: Peter Kellett on a 'perilous time for environmental law'

Interview: ClientEarth’s new boss on the next chapter in environmental litigation

Watchdog unleashed: Natalie Prosser on how the OEP is already having an impact

Interview: NFU president Minette Batters on why we’re all complicit in farm pollution

Interview: The chair of Scotland’s new green watchdog talks about plans for investigations and maintaining independence

Legal comment

Legal comment: Why Dartmoor’s wild camping case will have wider implications for the countryside

09 Feb 2023 by Ned Westaway
Contrary to popular understanding – and byelaws dating back to 1989 – there is no right to camp on Dartmoor commons, according to an important judgment from the High Court. However, with the government having just made a commitment to increase public access to nature, the case is unlikely to be the last word on the topic, writes Ned Westaway

Why directors can be personally held to account for environmental harm caused by their companies

12 Jan 2023 by Simon Tilling
The separate legal status of one company director’s waste firm was not enough to prevent him being personally punished in the Court of Appeal for his business’ lack of environmental compliance, and senior managers across the country should take note, writes Simon Tilling

Legal comment: Why EU nature conservation laws have survived Brexit - for now

08 Dec 2022 by Angus Evers
The Court has ruled that despite Brexit, certain parts of the EU-derived Habitats Directive remain enforceable by domestic courts, and has ordered the Environment Agency to prepare a plan for complying with the Directive in respect of the Broads Special Area of Conservation. However, the claimants’ victory may prove short-lived, writes Angus Evers

Legal comment: Why a quashed appeal for wind farm planning permission will bring uncertainty for developers

09 Nov 2022 by Laura Tainsh
The court’s decision to uphold a ruling which refused planning permission for an offshore wind farm due to its impact on the landscape is likely to cause uncertainty for developers, as achievement of energy targets is not given decisive weight under the current Scottish planning system, writes Laura Tainsh

Legal comment: The practicalities of cases where property rights meet environmental regulations

13 Oct 2022 by Nina Pindham
When a minerals supplier took Natural England to the High Court this year the case produced some particularly practical advice for lawyers. Nina Pindham of No.5 Barrister’s Chambers explains

Legal comment: Nutrient neutrality in the courts - the limits of precaution

07 Sep 2022 by Ned Westaway
A judge’s dismissal of a legal challenge against Natural England’s nutrient neutrality advice is an important restatement of the reluctance of the courts to intervene in technical cases, writes Ned Westaway


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