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
MLex: EU countries are expected to reach a common position on the European Commission's overhaul of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) by December...
The Environment Agency has announced the results of Operation Unite, an 18-week nationwide enforcement operation targeting permitted waste sites...
The European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy has announced that Commission Regulation EU/2024/1834, establishing ecodesign requirements...
This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: the publication of various new regulations covering the calculation of the rate for the...
The European Commission has opened a consultation on a draft regulation amending the Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN) implementing rules. The...
Latest Environment Practice Notes
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained.This tracker tool tracks and summarises key new and upcoming legislation and...
Since the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020 (IP completion day), the UK no longer participates in the Emissions Trading System...
This Environment cases tracker tool displays key decisions and appeal updates of interest to Environment lawyers from 1 January 2026.The tracker is...
What is littering?Litter can be anything from a crisp packet to a bag of rubbish. All litter is unsightly and causes untidiness. Common litter items...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained.This tracker tool tracks and summarises key new and upcoming legislation and...
Latest Environment Precedents
[Insert organisation name] is a signatory to [insert details of any environmental initiatives to which the organisation is a signatory, eg the United...
[name] [District] [Borough] [City] CouncilABATEMENT NOTICEmade under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990To: [name] of [address]Take...
In the [insert name] Magistrates' Court[insert date]Defendant: [insert name of person responsible for the statutory nuisance OR where applicable, the...
ARCHIVED: This Precedent has been archived and is not maintained.[Name][Address]Ref No: [number][Date]...
This clause outlines provisions for standard non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements (NDAs) to ensure climate change and environmental issues are...
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
Directive waste
Any substance or object which the holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard (Article 3(1) of the revised Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) (rWFD).
Environmental permit
Subject to certain exemptions, an operator requires an Environmental Permit in order to operate a regulated facility, such as a waste management facility, or to discharge to surface water or foul water, or to abstract water from controlled waters.
Natural capital
Natural capital refers to natural assets including forests, rivers, land, minerals and oceans.
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