This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: a publication by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) on the government's progress revoking and reforming the Retained EU Law (REUL), publication by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUCH) of its response to the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) review into the implementation of environmental assessment regimes in England, and guidance from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on single-use plastics restrictions. In addition, this week the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) opened a consultation on transitional support arrangements for a move to power bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS), and biodiversity net gain provisions in the Environment Act 2021 are due to come into force on 12 February 2024.

This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: news analysis on the final sentence passed against a landowner, who will have money confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 for offences under forestry legislation, a Court of Appeal decision regarding Ofwat's entitlement to exclude a percentage of the impact of water supply interruptions arising from a storm when calculating performance levels for assessing the revenue it could receive from customers, the Environment Agency (EA)'s publication of a report on the environmental performance of water and sewerage companies, and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)'s publication of a letter to environmental NGOs on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. In addition this week, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has published its report on the government's progress in reducing emissions, Ofwat has launched a consultation on the draft guidance for a common framework on environmental incentives and Defra has introduced the Water (Special Measures) Bill to strengthen regulation, ringfence infrastructure investment funding, increase the accountability of water executives and ban bonus payments if environmental standards are not met.

This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: analysis of the decision in Davies v Ford relating to the diesel emissions litigation; the decision in R (on the application of Peter Barclay and Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions) relating to challenge of the Secretary of State for Transport's decision to grant development consent for the Gatwick Airport Northern Runway Project; and publication of the Nature Restoration Levy Regulations 2026. In addition this week, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a paper on reform to the GB deforestation regime, on which it has committed to consult later this year, and the International Climate Finance Strategy 2026, the UK’s fourth, has also been published. There have also been new consultations from Ofwat on water efficiency and an interim response to the 2019 and 2021 consultations on non-domestic Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) in England and Wales has been published. In addition we have published new Practice Notes on how to manage PFAS in development and how to manage PFAS in the manufacturing sector.

This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: news analysis on the government’s updated Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) on flood risk, clarifying the application of the Sequential Test .In addition this week, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has issued an information notice to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), citing potential failures to comply with environmental law relating to marine water targets, and the UN has announced that the Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), will enter into force on 17 January 2026. Further this week, , the House of Lords European Affairs Committee has written to the Cabinet Office concerning forthcoming UK-EU negotiations on a common sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) area and the potential linking of emissions trading systems (ETS) and Defra has launched a consultation on proposed revisions to the Water Efficiency Standards in the Building Regulations 2010.

This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published UK Sustainability Reporting Standard (SRS) S1 (General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information) and UK SRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures), the Council of the European Union has signed off the Omnibus I simplification package, giving its final approval to measures to simplify corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) and corporate sustainability due diligence (CS3D) requirements, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published a policy paper setting out a new approach to the UK REACH SVHC candidate list, replacing the interim principles used since the UK’s EU exit in 2021, and the Environment Agency (EA) has announced a package of new surveillance and investigative measures aimed at tackling waste crime.

This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: news analysis on dismissal of an appeal seeking statutory judicial review of the Secretary of State (SoS)'s decision to grant permission for a gas power station with carbon capture and storage at Teeside. In addition , the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy 2025 which is a ten-year plan aimed at increasing business investment across eight growth-driving sectors, following a consultation launched in October 2024, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has published its 2025 report on the UK government's progress in reducing emissions, presented to Parliament under section 36(1) of the Climate Change Act 2008 (CCA 2008), the Welsh Government has published the Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (Wales) Direction 2025, outlining specific disposal requirements for local authorities in Wales and Ofgem has published new Regulatory Instructions and Guidance (RIGs) for carbon dioxide transport and storage licensees. Further this week, the Law Society has published supplementary FAQs addressing common questions from solicitors regarding its climate change and property practice note and the government has launched three consultations as part of its efforts to modernise the UK’s sustainability reporting framework.

This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: analysis of the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) endorsement. In addition this week, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has published guidance on the British Standards Institution's (BSI) Nature Investment Standards, launched consultations on proposed UK Best Available Techniques (BAT) and reform of the Packaging Waste Recycling Note (PRN) system, and published England's first Land Use Framework and its Waste Crime Action Plan. We have also published a new Practice Note on onshore infrastructure projects—environmental compliance.

This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: news analysis on the class status sought by consumers for an £800m sewage spill claim. In addition this week, the Law Society launched a consultation on a practice note regarding climate risk and conveyancing following the Law Society’s April 2023 publication of its climate change guidance, the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) announced plans to boost minimum energy efficiency standards for all rented homes alongside a grant scheme for warm homes, and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) published guidance on the development of UK Sustainability Reporting Standards. The Environment Agency (EA) has also published two guidance documents on electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), and the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has sought permission from the Court of Appeal to intervene in R (Pickering Fishery Association) v the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, concernsing a judicial review of the Secretary of State’s approval of the Humber River Basin Management Plan under the Water Framework Directive Regulations 2017, SI 2017/407 (WFD Regulations).

This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Prime Minister Office’s announcement of a new range of measures to tackle waste crime, including new confiscation order powers; Defra and the Welsh Government have also launched a new consultation on the introduction of conditional caution powers for local authorities for fly-tipping offenders. In addition this week, the Welsh Government has published its response to its prior consultation on the draft Air Quality (Fine Particulate Matter) (Wales) Regulations 2026, which it intends to proceed with as drafted, and announced plans to replace renewable energy targets with emissions reduction objectives in its National Energy Strategy for Wales later in 2026.

This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: news analysis on the UK government’s opening of the first ever application window for the new Clean Industry Bonus (CIB) subsidy. Also this week, the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 has received Royal Assent, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has published a statutory report, advising the UK government on the level of the Seventh Carbon Budget and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), along with the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, has published a new UK national biodiversity strategy and action plan (NBSAP) for 2030. Further this week, the Scottish Government has introduced the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill to Parliament and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has updated its planning practice guidance (PPG) on protecting and enhancing the natural environment.

This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: news analysis on the refusal to disclose legal advice relating to a controversial planning application under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s first-ever enforcement investigation into a company over climate-related issues and nuclear being a ‘pillar’ of green transition success, according to the Hungarian EU presidency program. In addition, the Supreme Court delivered its decision in R (on the application of Finch on behalf of the Weald Action Group) v Surrey County Council, holding that the decision to grant planning permission for the project was unlawful because (i) the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project had failed to assess the effect on climate of the combustion of the oil to be produced (the Scope 3 emissions), and (ii) the reasons for disregarding the effect were flawed. Also this week, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has reported a landmark environmental case in which a landowner, Jeff Lane, will have money confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002) for offences under forestry legislation.

This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: analysis from Peter Ashford, general counsel of the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) on the implementation of the Environmental Principles Policy Statement (EPPS) in England. In addition this week, we cover key environment announcements from the Spring Statement 2025 presented on 26 March 2025, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), along with devolved administrations has published the UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP) 2025, and the Environment Agency (EA) has published its updated Storm Overflow Assessment Framework 2025. Further this week, the OEP has launched an investigation into potential breaches of the Water Framework Directive Regulations by Defra and the EA .