This tracker tool tracks and summarises key new legislation and consultations in England and Wales linked to contamination, pollution and environmental permitting. The following regimes apply in England and Wales in relation to contamination, pollution and permitting: • the contaminated land regime under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990): this covers contamination to land that is causing (or where there is a significant possibility of causing) significant harm to human health (including property), living organisms or interference with ecological systems or controlled waters • the Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) (England) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/810 and the Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) (Wales) Regulations 2009, SI 2009/995 (EDR): these apply in relation to environmental damage, which is defined as environmental damage to: ◦ a protected species or natural habitat that has a significant adverse effect on reaching or maintaining the favourable conservation status of the species or habitat ◦ a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) that has an adverse effect on the integrity of the site ◦ surface

This tracker tool tracks and summarises key new legislation and consultations in England and Wales linked to environmental taxes, reliefs and incentives. HM Treasury has defined an environmental tax as one which meets the following three principles: • the tax is explicitly linked to the government's environmental objectives • the primary objective of the tax is to encourage environmentally positive behaviour change, and • the tax is structured in relation to environmental objectives—eg the more polluting the behaviour, the greater the tax levied The following environmental taxes apply in England and Wales: • landfill tax—a tax payable on disposals of waste at licensed landfill sites and on certain prescribed landfill activities • climate change levy (CCL)—a mandatory tax on UK business energy use, charged at the time of supply, known as taxable supplies. The climate change agreement (CCA) scheme entitles eligible facilities to receive a reduced rate (discount) on the CCL • aggregates levy—an environmental tax administered by HMRC on the commercial exploitation of aggregates in the UK • plastic packaging

This tracker tool tracks and summarises key new legislation and consultations in England and Wales linked to nature and biodiversity. The tracker is divided into the following sections: • Legislation—displaying key upcoming legislation of interest to Environment lawyers in England and Wales in force from 1 January 2026 • Consultations—displaying the current status and most recent developments of consultations open from 1 January 2026 or opened at an earlier date but still open as of 1 January 2026 being conducted by government departments, regulators and other bodies in relation to environmental law in England and Wales and consultations conducted by government departments, regulators and other bodies in relation to environmental law in England and Wales which closed from 1 January 2026. For details of expected future developments, see Practice Note: Environment—horizon scanner. To track EU developments in this area, see: EU Environment—key developments tracker and EU ESG and sustainability—key developments tracker. For details of expected future developments at EU level, see :EU Environment—horizon scanner and EU ESG and sustainability—horizon scanner. Full list

This tracker tool tracks and summarises key new legislation and consultations in England and Wales linked to sustainability. ‘Sustainability’ and ‘sustainable business’ have evolved conceptually over recent years. Sustainability initiatives are now typically concentrated on three distinct areas: environment, social, and governance (together, ESG). This tracker is primarily focussed on the environmental limb, including responsible business, reporting and sustainable development. However please note that some legislative initiatives may encompass wider ESG factors and broader responsible business practices. The UK’s plans and proposals for improving and incentivising sustainable business practices arise out of a number of international agreements and initiatives, including the Paris Agreement, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. For more information on these broader international initiatives, see: ESG and sustainability collection. The tracker is divided into the following sections: • Legislation—displaying key upcoming legislation of interest to Environment

This tracker tool tracks and summarises key new legislation and consultations in England and Wales linked to waste, including circular economy developments relating to end of life/waste and plastics, and the waste producer responsibility regime. The tracker is divided into the following sections: • Legislation—displaying key upcoming legislation of interest to Environment lawyers in England and Wales in force from 1 January 2026 • Consultations—displaying the current status and most recent developments of consultations open from 1 January 2026 or opened at an earlier date but still open as of 1 January 2026 being conducted by government departments, regulators and other bodies in relation to environmental law in England and Wales and consultations conducted by government departments, regulators and other bodies in relation to environmental law in England and Wales which closed from 1 January 2026 For details of expected future developments, see Practice Note: Environment—horizon scanner. To track EU developments in this area, see: EU Environment—key developments tracker and EU ESG and sustainability—key developments tracker. For details of expected future developments at

This tracker tool tracks and summarises key new legislation and consultations in England and Wales linked to water and marine. The tracker is divided into the following sections: • Legislation—displaying key upcoming legislation of interest to Environment lawyers in England and Wales in force from 1 January 2026 • Consultations—displaying the current status and most recent developments of consultations open from 1 January 2026 or opened at an earlier date but still open as of 1 January 2026 being conducted by government departments, regulators and other bodies in relation to environmental law in England and Wales and consultations conducted by government departments, regulators and other bodies in relation to environmental law in England and Wales which closed from 1 January 2026 For details of expected future developments, see Practice Note: Environment—horizon scanner. To track EU developments in this area, see: EU Environment—key developments tracker and EU ESG and sustainability—key developments tracker. For details of expected future developments at EU level, see :EU Environment—horizon scanner and EU ESG and sustainability—horizon scanner. Full list

The Prime Minister's Office has issued a press release ahead of a meeting between the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and Welsh First Minister, Eluned Morgan. The two leaders will meet to discuss efforts to collaborate and accelerate Britain’s position as a clean energy superpower through initiatives such as the government’s new publicly owned energy company, Great British Energy, which will invest in clean power projects in regions across the UK. This project is part of the government’s commitment to invest in homegrown energy sources that will enable economic growth, create jobs, boost skills and strengthen energy independence.

Arbitration analysis: The Court of Appeal re-affirmed the well-known English law position (overwhelmingly) in favour of enforcing New York Convention awards, with the public policy exception being very narrow construed, requiring the party invoking it clearly and specifically to prove it. At the same time, the court acknowledged that effective consumer protection was an important aspect of public policy, which was enshrined in primary legislation in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015). Provided that the CRA’s substantive requirements were met (viz. one was a consumer, the contract had a close connection with the UK, and its core term was both untransparent and unfair), the court would give effect to the unequivocal provision of CRA 2025, s 62 that ‘[a]n unfair term of a consumer contract is not binding on the consumer’, and refuse to enforce a Convention award rendered based on that term, notwithstanding the (otherwise) narrowness of the public policy exception. Written by Thomas Wong, barrister at Twenty Essex (London) and Denis Chang’s Chambers (Hong Kong).

Arbitration analysis: The court dismissed an application for a stay of Part 20 proceedings in favour of arbitration, deciding that the parties had not agreed to refer the matters in such proceedings to arbitration. Mr Justice Waksman held that the respondents were not bound to the arbitration agreement relied upon, but he also went on to find that even if they had been, the essential matters in the proceedings did not fall within the scope of the arbitration clause. Notably, the judge refused to allow the contrived introduction of a defence to bring the case within the scope of an arbitration clause. While much of the reasoning turned on the interpretation of the contract and an analysis of the proceedings in question, in the course of his decision, Justice Waksman held that (i) the question of whether one of the parties to the proceedings was a party to the arbitration agreement falls under section 9(1) rather than section 9(4) of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996) paras [42]–[43]; (ii) the burden of establishing that a party is bound by an arbitration agreement thus rests with the party relying on the arbitration agreement, save to the extent the respondent is relying on vitiating factors [39], [43]-[44]; (iii) the making of a s9 application after a jurisdiction application does not necessarily amount to an abuse of process. Written by Jennifer Haywood, barrister, arbitrator and mediator at Serle Court.

Arbitration analysis: This decision is one of a growing number of judgments addressing the initiation of Russian court proceedings in violation of arbitration clauses. These cases have emerged in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions imposed by the international community. In this instance, as in other recent rulings, the court concluded that the claimants were entitled to final anti-suit injunctions against the defendant, supporting ICC arbitration proceedings seated in Paris, under an agreement governed by English law. Written by Oliver Browne, partner at Paul Hastings (Europe) LLP.

Arbitration analysis: What is the status of an arbitral tribunal’s decision refusing to correct an award? The court considered this question in the context of an application to set aside an award on grounds of serious irregularity under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996). The claimant, Seacrest Group Ltd (‘Seacrest’), argued that the tribunal had infringed due process in its award in an arbitration between Seacrest and the defendants, BCPR PTE Ltd and Bangchak Corporation Public Company Ltd (together ‘BCP’), by failing to address a submission made by Seacrest for the first time in its written closing—and had then erred again in refusing to correct this aspect of the award. Seacrest argued that the court could not take account of the tribunal’s comments in the correction decision to the effect that, even if it had considered the late submission, this would not have changed the award. The court disagreed. It held that the correction decision, reached under article 38 of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (2021), was admissible evidence on which the court could base a conclusion that Seacrest had not suffered a substantial injustice. The court thus took the correction decision into account in finding that Seacrest’s new point would in any event have been rejected by the tribunal. Written by Natasha Peter, partner at Trinity International and barrister at Cornerstone Barristers.

This Practice Note provides guidance on commencing ad hoc arbitration proceedings under the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996, as amended by the Arbitration Act 2025). Prior to starting the arbitration Arbitration proceedings should not be commenced without first carefully assessing the potential consequences and risks of being involved in a formal dispute resolution process. Practice Note: The role of in-house counsel in international arbitration offers guidance on some of the key considerations for in-house counsel, and those advising them, on pre-arbitration matters. The potential for settlement of the parties’ dispute should also be considered at the pre-arbitration stage—see Practice Note: Settlement in arbitration. Before commencing arbitration proceedings, the parties and their lawyers should also review the applicable dispute resolution provisions and consider whether there is any contractual requirement to enter into mediation or any other form of ADR or expert determination procedure before referring the dispute to arbitration. It is common for dispute resolution clauses to be tiered in such a way—see Practice Note: Types of dispute resolution clauses—litigation, mediation,