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This paper summarizes the innovative approach to setting environmental flows proposed by Baxter in 1961, describes its immediate impact across both engineering and fisheries disciplines and explores the reasons why his approach was not adopted in river flow regulation and management in the UK. Yet, the basic approach was to be used world-wide by the end of the century. Several barriers constrained innovation in flow regulation in England during the 1960s: the overwhelming pollution problems; serious concerns about water shortage and food security, not least in the context of the severe 1959 drought; the influence of the 1963 Water Resources Act and the legacy of previous legislation; the limited availability of both river flow data and biological data; and the lack of awareness of human impacts on the environment. The paper also provides lessons for promoting environmental science into policy and practice to advance the implementation of environmental flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents comments from Trinity Chambers, one of the leading sets of barristers chambers in Great Britain, on topics including Brexit, European Union (EU), and environmental protection.

The article discusses the domestic environmental law of Great Britain in which the Member States or the European Union have acted over the Single European Act 1986.

The article discusses tax breaks for oil and gas industries in Britain's 2016 Budget, the government's commitment to zero emissions to improve air quality, measures taken to improve energy efficiency, and the implementation of commitments made at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) was created from the amalgamation of the functions of the Environment Agency Wales (EAW), the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) and the Forestry Commission Wales. The statutory functions of the three legacy environmental bodies had previously overlapped to some degree, and the rationale for a single body was to streamline activities and resources. However, the legacy bodies had differing – potentially conflicting – interests and duties, for example, in relation to balancing obligations regarding decisions affecting nature conservation. NRW’s duties now differ according to function. Furthermore, in certain circumstances, legislation required statutory consultation between the former bodies, such that EAW had to seek nature conservation advice from CCW as part of the environmental permitting process. NRW is now required to carry out such consultation internally. This research examines the duties of EAW, CCW and NRW with regard to nature conservation, and critically analyses the effect of the creation of a single body on the statutory consultation requirements. It concludes that the duties imposed on NRW with regard to nature conservation are weaker than those of the former CCW, and that the independence of the nature conservation body as consultee and the transparency of the statutory consultation process has been compromised by the creation of the single body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, a growing body of research has examined the role of cities in addressing climate change and the institutional and political challenges which they encounter. For the most part, in these accounts, the infrastructure networks, their material fabric, everyday practices and political economies, have remained unexamined. In this paper, it is argued that this is a critical omission and an approach is developed for understanding how urban responses to climate change both configure and are configured by infrastructure networks. Central to any such analysis is the conception of how and why (urban) infrastructure networks undergo change. Focusing on urban energy networks and on the case of London, the paper argues for an analysis of the ‘urban infrastructure regimes’ and ‘experiments’ through which climate change is governed. It is found that climate change experiments serve as a means through which dominant actors articulate and test new ‘low-carbon’ logics for urban infrastructure development. It is argued that experiments work by establishing new circuits, configuring actors in new sets of relations and through these means realising the potential for addressing climate change in the city. At the same time, experiments become sites of conflict, a means through which new forms of urban circulation can be confined and marginalised, leaving dominant energy regimes (relatively) intact. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drawing on an empirical study of environmental policies in Manchester (UK) and Saint-Etienne (France), this article attempts to provide a periodization of the evolution of the management of urban environmental issues. The periodization traces the shift in discourse from a focus on ‘local environment’ to ‘sustainable urban development’. Three main sequences are identified corresponding to three different ways of tackling environmental issues covering a period from the late 1970s up to the present. The aim of this article is twofold. First, it will use environmental policies as a tool to understand the transformations of urban governance, and in particular the transformations of the actors involved in policy-making. Second, it will show how sustainable development policies are used by local elites to neutralize urban conflicts by excluding environmental grassroots movements from the management of environmental issues. Finally, the article will discuss how this marginalization should be considered as a sign of the emergence of a post-democratic era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on marine spatial planning (MSP) for marine areas in Great Britain. It states that spatial planning of the sea has been considered as an environmental policy and also as a sector neutral approach aimed at promoting economic growth of the marine economy. It discusses the marine planning being handled by the Marine Management Organisation in England and by Marine Scotland for Scottish marine areas.

The article reports on the publication of the new waste strategy plan of the British government in May 2007 in Great Britain. The strategy represents part of the execution of the Framework Directive on Waste (WFD) and waste management plan for aims of WFD. The strategy applies the well-established notion of waste hierarchy, with waste prevention as the preferred option. The strategy also highlights the economic benefit to be derived from waste reduction.

The article presents updates relative to environmental law in Great Britain. Before the Parliament, the Sustainable Communities Bill was filed to promote the sustainability of local communities through a number of means. In Stephen and Suzanne Roper v. Tussauds' Theme Parks, the court ruled that the Crown Court had been correct in having regard to commercial considerations. Consultation on proposed changes to powers to restrict non-essential uses of water has been made in Britain.

The article discusses updates for several environmental laws in Great Britain as of December 11, 2006. The Companies Bill has received a Royal Assent on November 8, 2006 which requires companies to report about their environmental and social impacts as well as on employee and supplier issues. The Passenger Car Bill introduces additional conditions on the display of information relating to passenger car carbon dioxide emissions.

The impact of the environment on established political parties, especially in polities without an electorally successful green party, is surprisingly under-researched. This article provides a theoretically informed and empirically comprehensive analysis of the party politicization of the environment in Britain. Four hypotheses are developed, drawn from the party competition and `new politics' perspectives, which predict the response of the three major British parties to environ- mental issues. These hypotheses are tested against a range of quantitative and qualitative sources, notably the Manifesto Research Group and expert survey data. Party politicization of the environment is found to be limited, but there are important variations in party responses. Party competition is critical in explaining these responses. However, the `new politics' insight that the environmental issue dimension cuts across the traditional left-right cleavage identifies ideology as a further significant constraint on the willingness of established parties to embrace this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents legislative bills related to environmental laws in Great Britain from April 2005 to September 2005. The Citi Aviation Bill had its second reading on June 27, 2005. The Management of Energy in Buildings Bill is an act aimed at promoting renewable and sustainable energy through the management of energy efficiency in buildings. The Climate Change Bill, otherwise known as Bill No. 43 aims to combat climate change by setting legally binding targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Presents updated information regarding environmental laws covered from December 14, 2004 to March 18, 2005. Absence of relevant Acts of the British Parliament for the year 2005; Introduction of the Clean Neighborhoods and Environment Bill aimed at reducing environmental crime, nuisance and anti-social behavior; Citation of the Health and Safety Bill which imposes a duty on all company directors to ensure their company's efforts in taking all reasonable steps to comply with health and safety laws; Design of the Local Services and Facilities Bill requiring public authorities to undertake a social and environmental impact assessment before closing premises that provide services.

The UK and Scottish governments policy commitments to renewable energy, driven by recognition of the impacts of global warming and climate change, have led to increasing interest in all aspects of renewable energy. This article is concerned with how the Scottish Executive is able to reconcile new hydro-electric developments as a source of renewable energy with the local impacts of those developments. The outcome of a recent application for consent to construct a hydro-electric scheme at Shieldaig and Slattadale in Wester Ross provides an illustration of the issues involved. The local environmental impacts of hydroelectric development are considerable and the application of environmental impact assessment to the approval procedure for new schemes means that a much broader range of environmental impacts is now considered than ever before. The decision shows the importance of compliance with European Community environmental law, and is particularly interesting for its application of the precautionary principle to prevent impacts on protected species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on environmental regulation in the 21st century. Expression of the desired environmental outcome; Setting of regulatory process; Challenges facing regulators in Great Britain.

Reports on miscellaneous developments regarding environmental law in Great Britain and the European Union. Mandatory scheme for radioactive substance pollution reporting; European Commission proposal for a regulation on persistent organic pollutants; Environment Agency policy on building development on or within 250 meters of a landfill site; Landfill allowance trading scheme; Fees for substitution plans for high-risk solvents.

The ways in which issues of differential times and time-scales make themselves felt in environmental politics are explored. Official and industrial `control' of time-scales within environmental regulatory processes is seen to be an important determinant of the forms such politics take in countries like the UK. It is argued that the opening up of `time' debates carries far-reaching and positive implications for `sustainability' aspirations in the industrial world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information about new developments related to the field of environmental law. In Great Britain, Renewable Energy Bill is introduced in the House of Lords on 25 November 2004. It aims at making provision about the microgeneration of electricity; to provide for small renewable energy developments to be classed as permitted developments; and to provide for a renewables obligation for public suppliers of energy other than electricity suppliers. Royal Assent was given to the Hunting Bill on 18 November 2004. The Act prohibits the carrying out of, or the assistance with, hunting of wild mammals with dogs.

Reports on developments regarding environmental legislation in Great Britain and other countries from September 12, 2003 to December 11, 2003. Anti-Social Behavior Act 2003; Household Waste Recycling Act 2003; Sustainable Energy Act 2003; Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003; Water Act 2003; Energy Bil; Hunting Bill; Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill; European legislation; International legislation.

Reports on cases involving environmental law in Europe and Great Britain from September 11, 2003 to December 11, 2003. European Commission's claim that the Netherlands failed to fulfil its obligations concerning the protection waters against pollution; Commission's claim that Great Britain failed to adopt the necessary legislative and administrative provisions on the landfill of waste within two years of entry into force.

Discusses several environmental protection cases in Great Britain. "R v Environmental Agency" R v English Nature".