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 adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2358, which introduces transparency standards for certification schemes and...
Planning analysis: In Oceana UK v Secretary of State for Energy Security, the court confirmed that appropriate assessment under the Habitats regime...
The European Commission has launched a public consultation seeking input on climate resilience to inform development of a new EU framework on climate...
A round-up of the latest environmental enforcement, including prosecution for disturbing a Site of Special Scientific Interest by creating an...
The Welsh Government has announced consent to the Secretary of State exercising subordinate legislation-making powers in a devolved area for the...
Latest Environment Practice Notes
England and Wales environment tracker 2025—climate action, energy and emissionsThis tracker tool tracks and summarises key new and upcoming...
Mercury—regulationIntroductionThis Practice Note summarises the international and UK approaches to the control of mercury. The Minamata Convention on...
EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement—environmental provisionsIntroductionThe EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is an agreement between the...
Supply chain sustainability—key themesThis Practice Note explores the concept of supply chain sustainability within the broader context of sustainable...
The Heat Network Metering and Billing Regulations—heat supplier and landlord obligationsWhat are the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations...
Latest Environment Precedents
Transfer of environmental permits1DefinitionsContamination•means the presence of any Hazardous Substances in the soil and water at or under the...
Request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000[Insert address of applicant][Insert name of public authority][Insert address of...
Legal due diligence report—private M&A—share purchaseProject [insert project name]Prepared for [Insert addressee name][Insert date of...
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...
Environmental Information Regulations 2004, Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000—provision for disclosure by a local authority...
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
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.
Environmental impact assessment
A detailed assessment of the possible positive or negative impacts that a proposed project may have on the natural, social and economic environment.
Rylands v Fletcher
The rule in Rylands v Fletcher creates a strict liability cause of action for foreseeable damage caused by escapes occasioned by non-natural use of land.
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