Eco Chamber

Environmental Data Services (ENDS)
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Every week, the ENDS team runs down the biggest green news stories, shines a spotlight on some pretty nasty chemicals, and takes a forensic look at one of the more deep-rooted environmental issues facing us today. Read more on the issues covered at www.endsreport.com or follow us on Twitter @TheENDSReport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 1d ago

    The Eagle has landed at DEFRA as Burnham reshuffle plays out

    After weeks of political machinations, Sir Keir Starmer is out and Andy Burnham is in at No.10 Downing Street. While details have remained elusive on the former Manchester mayor’s environmental policies, as he picks his cabinet we can start to understand what type of government he intends to run. Dame Angela Eagle, the new DEFRA secretary, is not new to the department, having served as farming minister from September 2025 to June this year. But how green is she beyond that? Ed Miliband has been moved from his post as energy secretary to head up the Foreign Office, leaving Burnham “policy guru” Miatta Fahnbulleh heading up the government’s net zero policy. Where might that leave the controversial decision sitting on the DESNZ desk over oil and gas extraction in the North Sea? On this week’s ECO Chamber, podcast host Tess Colley and ENDS Report’s senior reporter Shosha Adie, come together to get to grips with these questions. PLUS: Why nature campaigners in Dartmoor have said the government has ‘caved into conspiracy theories’ over pony grazing controlsWho is Natural England’s new chief executive?And news that Thames Water creditors are battling to prevent nationalisation as Burnham arrives in No.10 The ECO Chamber is brought to you by journalists at ENDS Report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    The Eagle has landed at DEFRA as Burnham reshuffle plays out

  2. Jul 15

    Reshuffles, SpAds & Miliband’s moment: Green policy predications as Burnham lands

    Newly-elected Labour MP for Makerfield Andy Burnham is expected to be confirmed as the UK’s next prime minister in the coming days, having secured enough backing from Labour MPs to make it mathematically impossible for a rival to run against him for the leadership of the Labour Party. The former mayor of Manchester is expected to reshuffle his cabinet once he has the keys to Number 10, which would trigger sweeping changes in personnel in Westminster – both on the frontbenches and on the backbenches. There’s much interest in particular in the fate of current energy secretary Ed Miliband, who is tipped as a potential chancellor in Burnham’s administration. But what actually happens inside a Whitehall department when a new secretary of state is appointed after a reshuffle? What are the very first decisions that land on a new minister's desk? And how quickly do new special advisers (SpAds) embed themselves into Whitehall? To find out, ECO Chamber host Tess Colley and ENDS Report editor Jamie Carpenter are joined by special guest Isabella Gornall, the founder of the communications agency Seahorse Environmental and former environmental advisor to Zac Goldsmith. PLUS  Why a long-awaited delivery plan to restore nature by 2030 has been met with scorn by environmental charities. The inquiry set to be held into the death of boy who lived near a flooded historic landfillAnd news of the UK chemical factory at the centre of a PFAS scandal which has announced plans to ‘cease production’.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Reshuffles, SpAds & Miliband’s moment: Green policy predications as Burnham lands

  3. Jul 8

    Nature's body: Will a new bill give the natural environment human rights?

    Last month, a Nature’s Rights Bill entered the House of Lords. Its aim is to make nature a legal subject, seeing nature’s rights “represented and enforced in legal and administrative processes”.  But Conservative peer Lord Frost said that taking the bill seriously would require every individual and organisation “to pay obeisance to nature and its rights, as if it were some kind of goddess”, which he called a “pagan vision”. Although the private members’ bill, proposed by Green Party peer Baroness Bennett, is unlikely to make it into law, it sparked debate in its second reading last week.  Although the government does not support the bill in and of itself, it has said it was ‘open in principle’ to the idea of supporting new environmental rights in line with the EU. On this week’s podcast, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons and ENDS Report’s senior reporter Shosha Adie find out what that means.  The duo also discuss how more than 18,000 homes have reportedly been “unlocked” across some of the most-water stressed areas of East Anglia, Lincolnshire and the Home Counties. PLUS The biodiversity net gain market’s move to maturity. The budgets squeezed in Starmer’s defence plan. And the scientific breakthrough improving carbon sequestration.  The ECO Chamber is brought to you by the journalists of ENDS Report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Nature's body: Will a new bill give the natural environment human rights?

  4. Jul 1

    Would the King of the North change Labour's path on environmental policy?

    Four years ago, Burnham was interviewed on a Green Alliance podcast wherein he lauded Ed Miliband, now-energy secretary, as a “visionary”, gave his emphatic support for net zero amid the war in Ukraine, rejected fracking outright, and praised onshore wind.  But that was 2022.  Today’s political mood-music seems a far-cry from that time, with Reform UK surging ahead in this year’s local elections on an anti-net zero platform.  What’s more, Labour Unions Unite and GMB have accused Burnham’s rumoured choice of chancellor, Miliband, of prioritising environmental goals over protecting oil and gas jobs in the North Sea.  In his latest speech given in Manchester, Burnham promised “the biggest rebalancing of power in our country,” advocating for regional devolution, local reindustrialization and regeneration. On this week’s podcast, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons and ENDS Report’s senior reporter Shosha Adie speak with RSK Wilding’s legal counsel Alexa Culva about what it could mean for environmental policy.  The team also looks at what Burnham’s in-tray on environmental policy looks like should he become the next prime minister.   PLUS Government plans to align with EU deforestation rules gain traction. Post-Brexit deregulation is weakening environmental protections, an environmental charity report warns. And the new taskforce focusing on climate and nature threats to national security.  The ECO Chamber is brought to you by journalists at ENDS Report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Would the King of the North change Labour's path on environmental policy?

  5. Jun 24

    Brexit 10 years on: Is the UK still the dirty man of Europe?

    In the book, The Dirty Man of Europe, it was said that without pressure from Europe, it was difficult to see how the UK would have made any environmental progress in the 80s and 90s. Many in the environment sector feared that the UK’s vote to leave the EU in 2016 would herald a return to its position as the ‘Dirty Man of Europe’. We’re now a  decade on from the Brexit vote, which saw then prime minister David Cameron resign swiftly, followed over the years by four other Conservative prime ministers. In the last week, Labour prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced that he too will be standing down following two years at the helm that saw a rise in anti-nature rhetoric, and a rise in support for right-wing politics in the form of Reform UK.  Across the Channel, the EU too is witnessing its own surge in right-wing politics with key environmental policies now being unpicked.  So is the UK still the dirty man of Europe ten years on?  On this week’s podcast, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons is joined by ENDS Europe’s deputy editor Simon Pickstone and two special guests:  Ben Reynolds, the director of the Institute for European Environmental Policy UK.And Dr Viviane Gravey, an environmental policy specialist from Queen's University Belfast. PLUS  Sir Keir Starmer stands down as prime ministerAndy Burnham’s by-election win in Makerfield sets him on course for the keys to No.10And MPs are demanding full access to the government’s national security biodiversity report. The ECO Chamber is brought to you by journalists at ENDS Report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Brexit 10 years on: Is the UK still the dirty man of Europe?

  6. Jun 17

    Power List: UK’s top environmentalists discuss Brexit, today's politics and the future

    This month marks a decade since the Brexit vote and five years since the inaugural ENDS Power List – when Boris Johnson was the prime minister.   A place on the final list has become one of the UK environmental profession’s most sought-after accolades. Three environmentalists who have made the draw five years running are: Richard Benwell, chief executive at the Wildlife and Countryside LinkRuth Chambers, senior fellow at Green Alliance Estelle Dehon KC, environmental lawyer at Cornerstone Barristers  All three heavyweights spoke with ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons on 29 May to take stock of Brexit’s impacts 10 years on, the issues at stake for environmental policy today and where the debate goes from here. PLUS  The King’s Birthday Honours ListThe departure of DEFRA minister Angela EagleAnd the legal challenge on chemicals laws against the government.  The ECO Chamber is brought to you by journalists at ENDS Report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Power List: UK’s top environmentalists discuss Brexit, today's politics and the future

  7. Jun 10

    Green King of the North? How does Andy Burnham's environmental track record measure up?

    On Thursday 18 June, the make-or-break Makerfield by-election will take place. Burnham is standing as the Labour candidate and is expected to launch a leadership challenge should he win. But where does he stand on environmental policy?  To find out, ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks with ENDS Report senior reporter Shosha Adie, and the CEO of the Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside Wildlife Trust, Dr Tom Burditt.  The team also discusses the NGO concerns over how “loopholes” in the government’s biodiversity net gain policy are exacerbating unequal access to nature. PLUS  The RSPB announces staff redundancy plansThe home of the Devil’s Chimney becomes a national nature reserve.And the latest spread of UK solar power across the UK. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Green King of the North? How does Andy Burnham's environmental track record measure up?

  8. Jun 3

    War of the words: Starmer's blog and Reform UK's quango policy

    In the last week blog posts and essays have been published by the former Labour leader, Sir Tony Blair, and prime minister Sir Keir Starmer – along with potential contenders for the top job – over the future of Labour policy, including on net zero.  Blair has called for the government to shift to the “radical centre” and remove those parts of the net-zero agenda which “prioritise clean energy over cheaper energy”. Meanwhile, Reform UK has also been publishing detail on its own plans for government – including what it thinks of arm’s-length bodies like Natural England. In this week’s ECO Chamber host James Agyepong-Parsons speaks with ENDS Report deputy editor Tess Colley to find out how the prime minister responded to Blair’s intervention, what’s at stake in this battle of the blogs – and what you need to know from Reform UK’s policy documents.  PLUS  The ‘hundreds’ of dead sharks found on Welsh beachesA new charter signed to protect the Wye catchmentAnd the Scottish salmon farm fined £70,000 over F-gas regulations The ECO Chamber is brought to you by journalists at ENDS Report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    War of the words: Starmer's blog and Reform UK's quango policy
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About

Every week, the ENDS team runs down the biggest green news stories, shines a spotlight on some pretty nasty chemicals, and takes a forensic look at one of the more deep-rooted environmental issues facing us today. Read more on the issues covered at www.endsreport.com or follow us on Twitter @TheENDSReport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Environmental Data Services (ENDS)
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    210
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Haymarket Media Group Ltd
  • Show Website
    Eco Chamber

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