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 Environment Agency (EA) and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) have published annual heat maps identifying suspected...
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Natural England have...
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) has published an updated paper on accounting for carbon credits, examining the treatment of...
The European Commission has announced that Member States have submitted draft national restoration plans under Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 (the Nature...
The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) Secretariat has published the 2026 Draft List of Datapoints for the European Sustainability...
Latest Environment Practice Notes
STOP PRESS: A revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework was published on 17 August 2026. This content is being reviewed in light of...
Originally produced in partnership with Alistair Mills of Landmark Chambers and updated by Freya Foster of Henderson Chambers.The different routes of...
What does riparian ownership mean and who does it affect?‘If you own land or property next to a river, stream or ditch you are a riparian...
Water pollutionWater pollution can kill fish and aquatic life, destroy habitats, impact drinking supplies, reduce water quality and pollute...
This Practice Note looks at the overlap of the environmental damage regime (EDR) with:•the environmental permitting regime (EPR) under the...
Latest Environment Precedents
1. Name of applicant[insert details]2. If the applicant is requesting info on behalf of a third party, third party’s name[insert details]3. Address...
HM Land Registry Prescribed ClausesLR1. Date of the lease[date]LR2. Title number(s)LR2.1 Landlord's title number(s)[title number(s) out of which this...
This Agreement is made on [insert date] 20[insert year]Parties1[Insert name of Client] of [insert address of Client] (‘the Client’ which term shall...
Parties1[insert name of licensor] [of [insert address] OR company number [insert company number] whose registered office is at [insert address]] (the...
This Precedent clause is for a supply agreement requiring the supplier/contractor to procure energy from renewable sources. The clause future proofs...
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
Anti-pollution works
Environmental measures that can be imposed by the Environment Agency through a works notice in order to protect controlled waters.
Caution
A simple caution, formerly known as a formal caution, is an interview with an enforcing authority such as the Environment Agency that can be an alternative to prosecution where the authority wishes to deal quickly with an environmental offence that it considers to be less serious.
Integrated pollution prevention and control
The European regulatory system (EU directive 2008/1/EC) that requires member states to take appropriate measures to prevent environmental impacts from emissions and to regulate certain industrial activities. The term is also used within the UK Environmental Permitting regime to refer to regulation of the larger Part A1 installations by the Environment Agency.
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