Eco Chamber

Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.On this week’s bonus episode, ENDS’ senior journalist Shosha Adie hosts a dedicated panel on the chemical threats facing our rivers, which includes special guest Dr Robert Bradburne the Environment Agency's chief scientist.This episode focuses on Bradburne’s thoughts on forever chemicals, artificial intelligence and the agency’s scientific priorities.PLUS: Interviews with actor and activist Jim Murray, the festival’s organiser Claire Zambuni and water campaigner Ashley Smith of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution on the government’s performance, collaboration and the potential consequences of renationalising Thames Water.

Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Amy Fairman, head of campaigns at River Action, to explain why her team has taken action against DEFRA over its revised guidance on the Farming Rules for Water.Will farmers take kindly to being told what to do when it comes to the ‘needs of the soil and crop on the land’? Amy makes her case for why changes are needed. We also find out what a smaller-than-hoped-for budget means for the Office for Environmental Protection, and how the watchdog might fare with chairwoman Dame Glenys Stacey stepping down next yearPLUS: We bring you the latest on what the environment secretary thinks of the government’s anti-nature rhetoric, Natural England’s spending boost - and funding cuts as well, and a blueprint to phase out harmful wood-burners and incinerators.

This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Richard Broadbent, an environmental lawyer and director at Freeths LLP, as they review Natural England’s potential new powers contained in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Will it enable Natural England to build "an authoritarian empire," as some Conservative peers fear, or could it help unleash the regulator's full potential as a custodian of England’s natural world? We also find out what a new interim approach to risk management could mean for PFAS regulation in the UK. PLUS: We bring you the news on the latest record-breaking year for hen harriers missing or killed, an update on tree planting rates in England, and why a road upgrade scheme has been thrown out on climate change grounds.

Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Steve Coulter, head of economy at Green Alliance, as we review the government's new Industrial Strategy. The prime minister says it will "power Britain's future" but there are plenty of challenges ahead. We also find out what a new Environment Agency investigation means for the residents of Bentham -- the town in the UK with the highest known levels of PFAS in the UK.PLUS: The water industry regulator Ofwat is being taken to court over its recent price review, DEFRA has updated its statutory guidance for the Farming Rules for Water, and a judicial review over controversial plans to build a £2.2bn reservoir in Oxfordshire is ready to be heard in the courts.

Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Ali Plummer, director of policy and advocacy at England’s biggest nature NGO coalition group, Wildlife and Countryside Link, as we take a deep-dive into what came out in the wash from the chancellor's Spending Review – from DEFRA cuts and nature budgets, to billions for nuclear heralding a boom for the sector.PLUS: a legal victory for river campaigners which is set to change how intensive farms get approved; how a legal challenge against the Planning Bill took a step forward; and some good news for fans of the humble water vole…

Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Alyx Elliott, campaigns director at Oceana UK as we analyse the consequences of a proposed extension to England's bottom trawling ban which would see it cover more UK marine protected areas. The team also looks at the government's proposed amendments to "instill further confidence" in its new Planning and Infrastucture Bill.PLUS: the "worst environmental crime scene" in Northern Ireland's history, a new cross-government nature strategy, and a former EA chair’s grudge against toxic farm sludge.

Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Claire Petricca-Riding, head of environmental law at the legal firm Irwin Mitchell, as we get to grips with the government’s propsed reforms to how the biodiversity net gain regime should apply to small developments.The team also discusses the first findings of the Water Commission, and why it has recommended a review of the Water Framework Directive.Plus, Wales’ major new Environment Bill, the claim from DEFRA officials that PFAS updates are on their way, and what happened to a father and son who poked an EA officer in the eye….

Every week, the ENDS team enters the ECO Chamber to discuss the UK’s biggest green news stories and bring you up to speed on the latest developments in environmental policy.This week, ENDS journalists are joined by Green Alliance senior fellow, Ruth Chambers, as we analyse the consequences of an internal government review finding that DEFRA’s Environmental Improvement Plan is way off target.The team also delves into the green potential policy implications of what is being described as a “reset” in UK-EU post-Brexit relations. PLUS, we have news on the banning of a PFAS subgroup of chemicals, Anglian Water’s record fine, and the Law Society’s new conveyancing guidance on climate risks.