Climate negotiations at COP30 in Belém, Brazil have come to an end.

On this week’s podcast, ECO Chamber special guest Dr Timo Leiter from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, and a veteran of eight international climate conferences, shares his insights on the latest summit.

The ENDS Report team discusses the progress made – or not made – on trade measures, climate finance and adaptation,and limiting global warming to a 1.5C increase.

Did the ambitions of the 190 countries at COP 30 succeed, and what was it like without the US at the table?

The team also discusses the Planning and Infrastructure Bill as it nears the end of its journey through Parliament: the Commons’ latest rejection of two pro-nature amendments have meant last minute changes were put forward by the upper house… but did they succeed?

PLUS: Conservationists and land managers have warned the government against changing England’s flagship biodiversity net gain policy, an environment minister has been accused of ‘impinging the independence’ of the Office for Environmental Protection, and in Northern Ireland an investigation has been launched into the regulation of sewage discharges into Belfast Lough.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is nearing the end of its controversial passage in the House of Lords, with NGO lobby groups trying to come up with a compromise in a last minute huddle. Will they succeed?

At the same time, a High Court challenge and a new report from the Environmental Audit Committee has added more fuel to the fire.

The team also discusses the significance of an Oxfordshire plastic waste mountain illegally dumped on a floodplain near the river Cherwell – a tributary of the river Thames.

Who’s responsible for its clean-up and what will happen next?

PLUS: Leaks during climate negotiations at COP30 in Belém suggest the UK is allegedly thwarting talks, UK-EU negotiations move a step closer towards closer alignment on chemicals and pesticides, and England’s ban on plastic wet wipes…

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is nearing the end of its controversial passage in the House of Lords, but a new last-minute amendment has caused fresh consternation among environmental experts.

On this week’s ECO Chamber, deputy editor Tess Colley and podcast host James Agyepong-Parsons get to grips with the bill’s latest changes alongside special guest Ben Kite, policy chair at the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management and group strategy director at the consultancy Ecological Planning & Research.

The team also discusses a recent ENDS Report interview conducted with Marian Spain – the chief executive of Natural England – and her optimistic take on the bill, which she says is “pretty good”.

PLUS:

The sticking points at COP30 and the challenges for the UK’s own climate framework, news of a report written by members of a DEFRA committee which argues environmental policy ‘should be reshaped to focus on ecosystems not species’, and we bring you the regions set to benefit the most from a new £150m package to redevelop brownfield land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.