About Environment Law
Have you been instructed at short notice to advise on transactions or new environmental legislation outside your comfort zone? Are you up-to-date with the latest changes in environmental regulation – and have a sense of what’s on the horizon?
Current awareness, horizon scanning and trackers
Our curated daily news alerts, environmental law podcast and dedicated environmental law trackers, split according to topic and covering consultations and legislation, alongside our cases tracker, will save you time.
Air emissions and climate change
We show where climate change targets come from at national, European and international levels, plus we detail climate reporting and disclosure frameworks, track litigation and provide practical guidance for your business
Brexit and divergence
We detail the environmental law regimes that have been impacted by Brexit and track EU/UK/GB divergence.
Transactional support
We’ll give you transactional support guides and precedents for the environmental and health and safety (EHS) issues that environmental lawyers need to consider when supporting corporate and property deals.
Topics We Cover
Latest Environment News
The European Commission has launched parallel consultations on two new maritime sector initiatives: an EU Ports Strategy and an EU Industrial Maritime...
The Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU has published its programme for 1 July to 31 December 2025, outlining its priorities and direction...
The Environment Agency (EA) has published comprehensive guidance outlining the framework for waste exemptions in England. The guidance details the...
A round-up of the latest environmental enforcement, including Erith Contractors Ltd donating to South East Wales Rivers Trust as part of an...
Natural England has published its Action Plan for 2025/26, setting out how it will implement its new Strategic Direction, ‘Recovering Nature for...
Latest Environment Practice Notes
Brexit timelineOn 23 June 2016, the UK held a referendum on its membership of the EU, with a majority voting in favour of the UK leaving the EU. On 29...
Brexit legislation trackerThis Practice Note tracks the progress of UK legislation introduced as part of the legislative project associated with the...
Climate Risk and Property: Law Society practice note on climate change and propertyIntroductionThe impact of climate change is introducing a new...
GB classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP): Assimilated Regulation (EC) 1272/2008—snapshotTitleAssimilated Regulation...
Climate change—new starter guideAn introduction to climate changeWhat is climate change?Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and...
Latest Environment Precedents
Pie crust lease of a unit on an estateHM Land Registry Prescribed ClausesLR1. Date of the lease[date]LR2. Title number(s)LR2.1 Landlord's title...
Retained EU law—training materials [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Precedent has been archived and is not maintained.These training materials consist of...
Leases—landlord protection clause for contamination1DefinitionsContamination•the presence or accumulation of any Hazardous Substances at, in, on,...
Sustainability glossary terms (The Chancery Lane Project)These Precedent sustainability definitions, produced by The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) as...
Sale contract clauses—seller retains environmental liability for contamination1DefinitionsIn this clause [1] the following definitions...
Latest Environment Q&As
Featured Environment content
Private nuisance and the rule in Rylands v Fletcher—common law liability for environmental harm
Nuisance and the rule in Rylands v Fletcher—common law liability for pollutionPrivate nuisancePrivate nuisance is an unlawful interference with a...
Public nuisance—general principles
Public nuisance—general principlesPublic nuisanceThe common law offence of public nuisance was abolished by section 78 of the Police, Crime,...
Meaning of waste—definition of waste
Meaning of waste—definition of wasteDefinition of Waste'Waste' is defined in the Waste Framework Directive, Directive 2008/98/EC (WFD) as any...
Environment Agency (EA)—powers of entry
Environment Agency (EA)—powers of entryThe Environment Agency (EA), Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have...
Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE)—environmental and health and safety considerations and additional enquiries
Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE)—environmental and health and safety enquiriesCommercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSEs) are industry...
Highway drains and culverts
Highway drains and culvertsFor the purposes of s 100 of the Highways Act 1980, a ‘highway drain’ is defined as including a ditch, gutter, watercourse,...
Environmental insurance—when is it needed?
Environmental insurance—when is it needed?What is environmental insurance?Environmental insurance is a risk transfer solution to indemnify the insured...
Riparian ownership—rights and responsibilities
Riparian ownership—rights and responsibilitiesWhat does riparian ownership mean and who does it affect?‘If you own land or property next to a river,...
Control of asbestos—asbestos surveys
Control of asbestos—asbestos surveysLegal requirementsThere is a legal presumption that any non-domestic buildings (and the common parts of domestic...
Environmental management—environmental management systems (EMS)
Environmental management—environmental management systems (EMS)What is an environmental management system (EMS)?An environmental management system...
Water pollution—legislation
Water pollution—legislation This Practice Note looks at the key legislation in England and Wales for controlling and preventing water pollution and...
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)—snapshot
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)—snapshotTitleUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)Parties168Adopted10...
Judicial review—sufficient interest (standing) in environmental matters
Judicial review—sufficient interest (standing) in environmental mattersOriginally produced in partnership with Alistair Mills of Landmark Chambers and...
Contaminated land—remediation notices (service and appeal)
Contaminated land—remediation notices (service and appeal)What is a remediation notice?A remediation notice is a formal written notice that requires...
Energy performance certificates (EPCs)—issues for commercial landlords and tenants
Energy performance certificates (EPCs)—issues for commercial landlords and tenantsThis Practice Note looks at some of the key practical issues for...
Environmental management—environmental legal registers
Environmental management—environmental legal registersWhat is a legal register?A legal register is the documented output from a process where an...
Environmental liabilities—what are clean-up liabilities?
Environmental liabilities—what are clean-up liabilities?Clean-up liabilities are legal and financial obligations to remediate pollution or...
Contaminated land—meaning of remediation
Contaminated land—meaning of remediationMeaning of remediation'Remediation' is given a relatively wide definition in the Environmental Protection Act...
Associated legal terms
Environmental Impairment Liability insurance
Insurance policies written specifically to provide cover for environmental damage, which is generally excluded from most other liability insurance, such as public liability policies.
Waste duty of care
The legal duty of any person who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste to take all such measures as are reasonable in the circumstances to prevent that waste causing harm to the environment.
Zero carbon
where no CO2 emissions can be attributed to an organisation across any of its activities, or scopes
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