Eco Chamber

Climate negotiations at COP30 in Belém, Brazil have come to an end. On this week’s podcast, ECO Chamber special guest Dr Timo Leiter from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, and a veteran of eight international climate conferences, shares his insights on the latest summit.  The ENDS Report team discusses the progress made – or not made – on trade measures, climate finance and adaptation,and limiting global warming to a 1.5C increase. Did the ambitions of the 190 countries at COP 30 succeed, and what was it like without the US at the table?  The team also discusses the Planning and Infrastructure Bill as it nears the end of its journey through Parliament: the Commons’ latest rejection of two pro-nature amendments have meant last minute changes were put forward by the upper house… but did they succeed? PLUS: Conservationists and land managers have warned the government against changing England’s flagship biodiversity net gain policy, an environment minister has been accused of ‘impinging the independence’ of the Office for Environmental Protection, and in Northern Ireland an investigation has been launched into the regulation of sewage discharges into Belfast Lough.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is nearing the end of its controversial passage in the House of Lords, with NGO lobby groups trying to come up with a compromise in a last minute huddle. Will they succeed?At the same time, a High Court challenge and a new report from the Environmental Audit Committee has added more fuel to the fire.The team also discusses the significance of an Oxfordshire plastic waste mountain illegally dumped on a floodplain near the river Cherwell – a tributary of the river Thames.Who’s responsible for its clean-up and what will happen next?PLUS: Leaks during climate negotiations at COP30 in Belém suggest the UK is allegedly thwarting talks, UK-EU negotiations move a step closer towards closer alignment on chemicals and pesticides, and England’s ban on plastic wet wipes…

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is nearing the end of its controversial passage in the House of Lords, but a new last-minute amendment has caused fresh consternation among environmental experts.  On this week’s ECO Chamber, deputy editor Tess Colley and podcast host James Agyepong-Parsons get to grips with the bill’s latest changes alongside special guest Ben Kite, policy chair at the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management and group strategy director at the consultancy Ecological Planning & Research. The team also discusses a recent ENDS Report interview conducted with Marian Spain – the chief executive of Natural England – and her optimistic take on the bill, which she says is “pretty good”. PLUS: The sticking points at COP30 and the challenges for the UK’s own climate framework, news of a report written by members of a DEFRA committee which argues environmental policy ‘should be reshaped to focus on ecosystems not species’, and we bring you the regions set to benefit the most from a new £150m package to redevelop brownfield land. 

Waste crime costs England's economy around £1 billion a year in damages, but a new inquiry has levelled accusations of “incompetency” at the Environment Agency in dealing with it. But the news has gone without comment from the regulator chief…In this week’s episode, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons and ENDS editor Jamie Carpenter discuss the story with Dr Anna Willetts – an environmental waste crime lawyer at Gunnercooke LLP and former president of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management.The team also discusses the final amendments to the controversial Planning and Infrastructure Bill being debated in the House of Lords, including new protections for wetlands and attempts to curb the scope of nascent Environmental Delivery Plans. PLUS: The government has published a carbon budget and growth delivery plan, major infrastructure projects may have a new permitting slip stream, and an ENDS exclusive reveals the English landfills suspended and closed since the mid-2010s.

For years, a battle over nutrient neutrality has been raging in the courts. This came to a head in the Supreme Court this month. On this week’s podcast, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons and deputy editor Tess Colley speak with lawyer Estelle Dehon KC from Cornerstone Barristers about the potential impacts of the ruling. The trio also discuss the latest amendments to the controversial Planning and Infrastructure Bill being debated in the House of Lords. .PLUS: The Environment Agency is developing a priority list for certain PFAS chemicals in a bid to help set emission limits, DEFRA has accepted a raft of recommendations from the Office for Environmental Protection over its Environmental Improvement Plan, and a prominent air campaigner has vowed to take the government to court for its failure to adopt WHO air quality guidelines.

In May, Reform UK took control of Lincolnshire County Council - a region set to become home to  the UK’s largest solar farm.. With local opposition sounding the alarm over the project, the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice has warned that the project would “devastate thousands of acres of productive farmland and countryside in Lincolnshire”.This week, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons and senior reporter Shosha Adie discuss the significance of Tillbridge Solar – set to straddle 1,670 hectares of mostly agricultural land.The team also discusses the latest amendments of the government’s controversial Planning and Infrastructure Bill tabled in the House of Lords this week.PLUS: International talks on a shipping carbon tax system flounder, England’s hydrogen and carbon capture cluster gains traction, and thousands of farmers see nature-recovery subsidies extended.