Last month, a Nature’s Rights Bill entered the House of Lords.

Its aim is to make nature a legal subject, seeing nature’s rights “represented and enforced in legal and administrative processes”. 

But Conservative peer Lord Frost said that taking the bill seriously would require every individual and organisation “to pay obeisance to nature and its rights, as if it were some kind of goddess”, which he called a “pagan vision”.

Although the private members’ bill, proposed by Green Party peer Baroness Bennett, is unlikely to make it into law, it sparked debate in its second reading last week. 

Although the government does not support the bill in and of itself, it has said it was ‘open in principle’ to the idea of supporting new environmental rights in line with the EU.

On this week’s podcast, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons and ENDS Report’s senior reporter Shosha Adie find out what that means. 

The duo also discuss how more than 18,000 homes have reportedly been “unlocked” across some of the most-water stressed areas of East Anglia, Lincolnshire and the Home Counties.

PLUS

• The biodiversity net gain market’s move to maturity.

• The budgets squeezed in Starmer’s defence plan.

• And the scientific breakthrough improving carbon sequestration. 

The ECO Chamber is brought to you by the journalists of ENDS Report.

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Four years ago, Burnham was interviewed on a Green Alliance podcast wherein he lauded Ed Miliband, now-energy secretary, as a “visionary”, gave his emphatic support for net zero amid the war in Ukraine, rejected fracking outright, and praised onshore wind. 

But that was 2022. 

Today’s political mood-music seems a far-cry from that time, with Reform UK surging ahead in this year’s local elections on an anti-net zero platform. 

What’s more, Labour Unions Unite and GMB have accused Burnham’s rumoured choice of chancellor, Miliband, of prioritising environmental goals over protecting oil and gas jobs in the North Sea. 

In his latest speech given in Manchester, Burnham promised “the biggest rebalancing of power in our country,” advocating for regional devolution, local reindustrialization and regeneration.

On this week’s podcast, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons and ENDS Report’s senior reporter Shosha Adie speak with RSK Wilding’s legal counsel Alexa Culva about what it could mean for environmental policy. 

The team also looks at what Burnham’s in-tray on environmental policy looks like should he become the next prime minister.  

PLUS

• Government plans to align with EU deforestation rules gain traction. 
• Post-Brexit deregulation is weakening environmental protections, an environmental charity report warns. 
• And the new taskforce focusing on climate and nature threats to national security. 

The ECO Chamber is brought to you by journalists at ENDS Report.

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In the book, The Dirty Man of Europe, it was said that without pressure from Europe, it was difficult to see how the UK would have made any environmental progress in the 80s and 90s. Many in the environment sector feared that the UK’s vote to leave the EU in 2016 would herald a return to its position as the ‘Dirty Man of Europe’.

We’re now a  decade on from the Brexit vote, which saw then prime minister David Cameron resign swiftly, followed over the years by four other Conservative prime ministers.

In the last week, Labour prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced that he too will be standing down following two years at the helm that saw a rise in anti-nature rhetoric, and a rise in support for right-wing politics in the form of Reform UK. 

Across the Channel, the EU too is witnessing its own surge in right-wing politics with key environmental policies now being unpicked. 

So is the UK still the dirty man of Europe ten years on? 

On this week’s podcast, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons is joined by ENDS Europe’s deputy editor Simon Pickstone and two special guests: 

• Ben Reynolds, the director of the Institute for European Environmental Policy UK.
• And Dr Viviane Gravey, an environmental policy specialist from Queen's University Belfast.

PLUS 

• Sir Keir Starmer stands down as prime minister
• Andy Burnham’s by-election win in Makerfield sets him on course for the keys to No.10
• And MPs are demanding full access to the government’s national security biodiversity report.

The ECO Chamber is brought to you by journalists at ENDS Report.

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This month marks a decade since the Brexit vote and five years since the inaugural ENDS Power List – when Boris Johnson was the prime minister.  

A place on the final list has become one of the UK environmental profession’s most sought-after accolades.

Three environmentalists who have made the draw five years running are:

• Richard Benwell, chief executive at the Wildlife and Countryside Link
• Ruth Chambers, senior fellow at Green Alliance 
• Estelle Dehon KC, environmental lawyer at Cornerstone Barristers 

All three heavyweights spoke with ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons on 29 May to take stock of Brexit’s impacts 10 years on, the issues at stake for environmental policy today and where the debate goes from here.

PLUS 

• The King’s Birthday Honours List
• The departure of DEFRA minister Angela Eagle
• And the legal challenge on chemicals laws against the government. 

The ECO Chamber is brought to you by journalists at ENDS Report.

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On Thursday 18 June, the make-or-break Makerfield by-election will take place. Burnham is standing as the Labour candidate and is expected to launch a leadership challenge should he win.

But where does he stand on environmental policy? 

To find out, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks with ENDS Report senior reporter Shosha Adie, and the CEO of the Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside Wildlife Trust, Dr Tom Burditt. 

The team also discusses the NGO concerns over how “loopholes” in the government’s biodiversity net gain policy are exacerbating unequal access to nature.

PLUS 

• The RSPB announces staff redundancy plans
• The home of the Devil’s Chimney becomes a national nature reserve.
• And the latest spread of UK solar power across the UK.

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In the last week blog posts and essays have been published by the former Labour leader, Sir Tony Blair, and prime minister Sir Keir Starmer – along with potential contenders for the top job – over the future of Labour policy, including on net zero. 

Blair has called for the government to shift to the “radical centre” and remove those parts of the net-zero agenda which “prioritise clean energy over cheaper energy”.

Meanwhile, Reform UK has also been publishing detail on its own plans for government – including what it thinks of arm’s-length bodies like Natural England.

In this week’s ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks with ENDS Report deputy editor Tess Colley to find out how the prime minister responded to Blair’s intervention, what’s at stake in this battle of the blogs – and what you need to know from Reform UK’s policy documents. 

PLUS 

• The ‘hundreds’ of dead sharks found on Welsh beaches
• A new charter signed to protect the Wye catchment
• And the Scottish salmon farm fined £70,000 over F-gas regulations

The ECO Chamber is brought to you by journalists at ENDS Report.

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In the UK, no chemical company has ever been prosecuted for PFAS-related claims. But environmental law firm Leigh Day is currently investigating potential legal action against AGC Chemicals Ltd. on behalf of the residents in Thornton-Cleveleys. 

Now, documents unearthed by ENDS can reveal that representatives on behalf of the company knew that since the year 2000, one chemical used in its manufacturing – PFOA – caused lesions and decreases in cognitive and motor functions in long-tailed macaques that ultimately lead to their deaths. 

To find out more, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks to ENDS Report news editor Pippa about what six scientists meeting in a Scottish castle in 2000 has to do with the health impacts of PFAS forever chemicals on the residents of Thornton-Cleveleys now.

Plus 

• DEFRA’s £30m wildlife-farming fund
• Scottish Forestry’s flawed environmental impact assessment over the northern brown argus butterfly 
• And a new study linking moorland burning to air pollution impacting millions of people.

The ECO Chamber is brought to you by journalists at ENDS Report.

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There are more than 21,000 historic landfills scattered across England and Wales. Of these almost 1,300 are categorised as containing hazardous waste.

In Surrey, new documents unearthed by an ENDS investigation show how irresponsible waste practices carried out between the 50s, 60s and 70s, could be coming to haunt the present. 

This week, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons and ENDS Report deputy editor Tess Colley speak with the journalist behind this latest ENDS investigation, Joe Sanderson Clarke, on why contaminated land campaigners are pushing for changes to the law.

The team also discusses the King’s Speech as prime minister Sir Keir Starmer stands on shaky political ground. 

Plus 

• The Dogger Bank offshore windfarms green-lit, despite nature concerns
• The 13 new official bathing sites, which includes a site in London
• And news that one third of regulated waste sites in England may not be compliant

The ECO Chamber is brought to you by journalists at ENDS Report.

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On 7 May, Labour lost control of the Welsh Senedd for the first time in history. 

In Scotland, it recorded its worst ever result at a Scottish Parliamentary election, and in England, Labour lost 1,496 councillors as Reform UK and the Green Party made huge gains. 

As the government sets out its legislative agenda in the King’s Speech this week, we ask what the political upheaval might mean for environmental policy.

With resignations from Labour MPs and ministers including, Miatta Fahnbulleh the housing minister, Jess Phillips the safeguarding minister, Alex Davies-Jones the victims' minister, health minister Zubir Ahmed, and Tom Rutland, the parliamentary private secretary to DEFRA secretary Emma Reynolds, pressure is mounting on the prime minister to resign. 

If he does, could we see environmental policy zombified as the government tries to get to grips with the in-fighting?

To find out, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons and ENDS Report editor Jamie Carpenter speak with special guest Isabella Gornall, the founder of the communications and lobbying agency Seahorse Environmental and former environmental advisor to Zac Goldsmith.

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This week, the team takes stock of the resignation of South East Water’s non-executive chair, Chris Train, who resigned following a damning report over the company’s leadership by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee. 

But the MPs are not finished yet. 

On this week’s ECO Chamber, podcast host James Agyepong-Parsons and ENDS Report senior reporter Shosha Adie sit down to discuss why the committee also wants South East Water’s chief executive, David Hinton, to step down. 

The team also discusses news that the House of Lords will not be debating the subject of the natural environment in the wake of the King’s Speech. 

PLUS: The rise of pharmaceutical pollution in honey potentially caused by sewage sludge, the tens of thousands of tonnes of shredded waste dumped on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a former NRW board member rejected from running for Reform UK

The ECO Chamber is brought to you by journalists at ENDS Report.

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