Eco Chamber

On this week’s podcast, environmental lawyer Richard Broadbent, a director at the legal firm Freeths LLP discusses the significance of the news that biodiversity net gain (BNG) now applies to nationally significant infrastructure projects.However, with the government having just used its latest Budget to carve out fresh exemptions to BNG policy, there are fears about what the move could mean for nature markets and future success of BNG.Broadbent gives his view on what the latest tweaks could mean, including the implications on whether the government can get back on track to meet its legal obligations under the Environment Act 2021. In this episode, the team also looks at Lisa Tennant, the new incoming chair of the Environment Agency. PLUSThe Chief executive of Yorkshire Water steps down.The Wildlife Trusts goes wild for the Rothbury Estate.And the Office for Environmental Protection’s fresh warnings against Norfolk’s EDP.

On this week’s podcast, special guest Dr Anupama Sen, head of policy engagement for the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford joins host James Agyepong-Parsons. The pair discusses the risks and rewards of the government’s recent decision to approve the Jackdaw gas field, the looming decision over Rosebank and whether or not the prime minister can square either decision with his net zero commitments.Dr Sen believes that the decision is potentially damaging on the international stage as climate delegates head to COP31 in Antalya, Turkey next month. PLUSHSE loses a landmark legal case over public access to farmers’ pesticide recordsNorthern Ireland moves towards a national biomethane strategyAnd COP 17 draws to a close.

On this week’s podcast, Julia Baker, the global lead on nature at consultancy Mott MacDonald discusses the risks facing junior ecologists in a new age of AI adoption within the environmental profession. Baker shares her experiences of where the use of AI has benefitted her professional world, how the next generation of ecologists can benefit from it, and the warning signs of what to avoid. For Baker, safeguards are needed. Young ecologists entering into the profession need to seek out the companies that are putting those safety measures in place. But her advice comes at a time when the heads of AI companies have called for greater regulation from lawmakers, and AI safety engineers have warned of a potential impending apocalypse.PLUSSolent seabird numbers soar years after bird flu devastation.. DEFRA reveals a new plan for organic farmers.And Anglian Water’s £1.6m sewage blunder.

Natural England has taken a bruising in political circles in recent months, but particularly in the last week, after the Conservative Party outlined plans to abolish the watchdog were it to be in government.In September, Reform UK also threatened to abolish Natural England should it ever form a government, and the regulator has also come under recent criticism from a Liberal Democrat MP who chairs the Environment, Farming, and Rural Affairs committee.The news may sound like déjà vu – in the later years of the most recent Conservative governments, Natural England became wrapped up in what NGOs dubbed an ‘attack on nature’. But is it different this time?On this week’s ECO Chamber, special guest Sally Hayns, chief executive of The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management joins podcast host Tess Colley and ENDS Report editor in chief, Jamie Carpenter, to put the latest attacks in context.PLUS: The new taskforce on ‘climate security’; why the Tory shadow environment minister is calling for the Welsh environmental regulator to be scrapped; and the net zero chief who has just left his position in the government.

The Labour Party Conference has concluded.The party entered its annual conference with a polling boost holding a four-point lead: 27% of the vote, under the newly-elected prime minister.On the main stage, Burnham used his address to focus on pensions, electoral reform, devolution, and a national care service. On the environment he pledged that “a strengthened water bill” will be brought forward to Parliament, the “centerpiece” of which will be “the repeal of Margaret Thatcher’s ideological ban on public ownership of water companies”. In this week’s episode, brought to you from the conference floor, the ENDS team speaks to DEFRA secretary Angela Eagle and hears from experts across the sector including:Matthew Brown, head of public affairs at The Wildlife TrustsMartin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming NetworkMary-Ann Ochota, president of Campaign to Protect Rural EnglandBill Eyres, co-chair of Labour’s Environment Campaign – SERAWith extensive coverage from across the conference, this special episode of the ECO Chamber is brought to you by the journalists of ENDS Report.

On this week’s podcast, environmental lawyer Alexa Culver from RSK Wilding gives her view on why Natural England’s first EDP, set for the Norfolk Broads, is riddled with flaws. She has described the blueprint as a “blunt and daft” tool that has pushed nature and developers in Norfolk into a “lose lose” situation. Last week, Natural England published its first EDP for consultation, which covers the Broads Special Area of Conservation, Broadland Ramsar site and the river Wensum Special Area of Conservation in Norfolk. Under the plan, developers will have to pay a levy to use the EDP, but ENDS has exclusively revealed that taxpayer money will be needed to deliver the initial environmental protections. We discuss whether the scheme is sustainable. The team also looks at the key takehomes of the Liberal Democrat’s party conference in Brighton, and why supporting new drilling in the Jackdaw gas field could be seen as a red herring for their leader, Ed Davey. PLUSThe prime minister’s route to net zero that shuns the ‘Whitehall way’.The lessons the Environment Agency has learned on Hoad’s Wood’s illegal dump.And the East Sussex town that has voted to recognise the rights of trees

On this week’s podcast, Martin Baxter, the deputy chief executive of the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP) discusses the risks and rewards of AI adoption within the environmental profession. On Tuesday, ISEP published a new advice note on the responsible use and application of AI by sustainability and environmental professionals. Baxter believes the negative impacts of AI adoptions needs to be better understood by the profession. His warning comes at a time when top AI safety researchers are warning of potential human annihilation within a decade, and the heads of AI companies are pleading for greater regulation from lawmakers. The team also discusses comments made to ENDS by the Green Party leader, Zack Polanski, on the aspects of biodiversity net gain policy he thinks are increasing social inequality.  PLUSA welcomed rhetoric from the new nature minister.DEFRA’s plans to tighten limits on PFOS.And a new assessment on the money England needs to reach its nature targets.

The Labour Party promised a major water reset when it was elected, and Andy Burnham’s government shows no sign of reversing that direction. New powers have been granted to regulators like the Environment Agency under the Water Special Measures Act, a major review of the sector was carried out by Sir John Cunliffe to ascertain how a more joined-up approach to regulation could be achieved, and a new Clean Water Bill was announced in the King's Speech earlier this year. On top of that, the prime minister himself has signalled that the renationalisation of the water sector isn’t off the table. For this ECO Chamber podcast bonus episode, the ENDS Report team travelled to Henley-on-Thames on 4 September to find out what’s at stake for the water sector. Backstage, the team spoke with policy-makers, watchdog leaders and environmentalists, including: Natalie Prosser, the chief executive of the Office for Environment Protection about the funding pressures her organisation is facing.Helen Wakeham, the Environment Agency’s director for water on her organisation’s priorities.And Yuan Yang, an economist and Labour MP for Earley and Woodley, on the risks and rewards of her government renationalising the water sector. The podcast also includes extracts from an expert panel hosted by ENDS’ senior journalist Shosha Adie with Wakeham, the chief executive of the Wildlife and Countryside Link, Richard Benwell, and Ofwat’s senior director of communications and engagement, Mark Wiltsher. The panel discussed the pros and cons of a slated new super regulator, the sector at large, the challenges ahead for policymakers, and more.The Eco Chamber is brought to you by the journalists at ENDS Report.