The global market in artificial intelligence is projected to hit $4.8 trillion by 2033, according to the UN’s latest analysis, and it seems all that anyone can talk about. But with its drain on water resources, and high energy demands, the technology could pose serious environmental risks. 

As AI’s deployment in the environmental space gathers pace, how are the UK’s green professionals squaring this circle? On this week’s ECO Chamber, host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks with ENDS Report editor Jamie Carpenter about how the sector is changing, and what’s at stake. 

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

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The government has announced that the flagship nature policy, biodiversity net gain, is set to see substantial revisions in 2026 with development sites up to 0.2 hectares in size to be exempt from the requirement. 

Labour has also revised England’s national planning policy blueprint – the National Planning Policy Framework. 

On this week’s ECO Chamber, host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks with lawyer Alexa Culver from RSK Wilding to unpick these updates, and hears why she says Labour’s net gain changes are a ‘wound’ to nature markets ‘but not a fatal one’.

For this year’s final episode, ENDS Report deputy editor Tess Colley also looks back at the biggest UK environmental moments in Labour’s second year of government. 

PLUS: South East Water blames its own water sources following a two-week window where customers had to boil their water, the House of Lords has slammed the government’s response to its waste crime inquiry, and PFAS monitoring methods underestimate the true scale of forever chemical pollution, a cross-party group of MPs have been told. 

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In this episode, we investigate the representation of working class voices in the UK’s environment sector, reveal exclusive ENDS analysis on the industry’s make-up and hear from those trying to break glass ceilings.

New ENDS analysis shows that of more than 260 environmental professionals surveyed, more than two-thirds of respondents felt that working class individuals are either significantly or slightly under-represented in their organisations.

Only a fifth felt this group was fairly represented. But the picture is arguably more nuanced that the data shows.

To help wrestle with the numbers, in this podcast we speak to:

• Nadia Shaikh - a campaigner on land access and chair of the RAVEN network
• Dr Ciara Dwyer - a research fellow for DEFRA and co-chair of the Socioeconomic Equality and Diversity (SEED) network
• Sarah Mukherjee - chief executive officer at the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals
• Emma River-Roberts - founder of the non-profit Working Class Climate Alliance

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The economist John Fingleton has published his recommendations to streamline planning laws for the development of UK nuclear power – and they could have implications far beyond the nuclear industry.

The prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has endorsed all of Fingleton’s recommendations and in a speech last week, promised to go further citing “well-intentioned, but fundamentally misguided, environmental regulations” as derailing the country’s infrastructure growth plans.

On this week’s podcast, ECO Chamber host, James Agyepong-Parsons, and ENDS Report deputy editor, Tess Colley, speak with Georgia Dent, the chief executive officer at the Somerset Wildlife Trust to find out what it means for environmentalists. 

The team also discusses the Office for Environmental Protection’s latest report looking at England’s protected nature sites. 

PLUS: The creation of a national park in Wales has been rejected due to its ‘adverse impact’ on development prospects; DEFRA confirms the green light for Habitats Regulations changes tied to offshore wind; and the High Court has dismissed a legal challenge over Luton Airport’s expansion.

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This week the government published its long-awaited Environmental Improvement plan. The report is intended to lay out how the government will deliver on the Environment Act 2021’s legally-binding targets.

The reception has been mixed – but why has the prime minister’s words on the day sparked debate?

On this week’s podcast, ECO Chamber host, James Agyepong-Parsons, and ENDS Report deputy editor, Tess Colley, speak with Ruth Chambers, senior research fellow at the think-tank Green Alliance to find out. 

From nature targets to a promised PFAS action plan, the team discusses the implications and potential impact of the new EIP. 

The team also gets to grips with the ramifications of the new budget wherein policies on climate and nature were notably absent. 

PLUS: 

A former top ranking officer in the British Army has warned that the UK could become an ‘ungovernable state’ if climate change is not taken seriously; nature duty amendments in a new Devolution Bill have been quashed; and the UK takes a leaf out of the Trumpian handbook at an international meeting intended to uphold environmental democracy. 

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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.

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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…

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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