On November 5 LLM environmental law students were taken on a walking tour around the Isle of Dogs looking at how London has handled waste over the centuries.

The tour was led by Rosie Oliver, former Government environmental lawyer and now running Dotmakers Tours, providing specialized walks with an environmental theme.

The group completed the tour by using the pedestrian tunnel under the Thames to Greenwich, ending up on the foreshore of the Thames (photo) where we were able to find oyster shells and bits of clay pipes discarded several hundred years ago.

Richard Macrory, director of the UCL carbon capture Legal Programme, spoke at GHGT-12 in Austin Texas on October 6. More than 1200 experts from all round the world attend the conference which is held every two years under the auspices of the Internal Energy Agency.

Richard Macrory and Ian Havercroft (Global carbon Carbon Storage Institute, and Hon Senior Research Associate, UCL) presented their new report on legal liability issues relating to carbon capture and storage.

http://www.globalccsinstitute.com/publications/legal-liability-and-carbon-capture-and-storage-comparative-perspective

At the end of September, the Centre organized its first reunion for former LLM studentswho studied environmental law at UCL. The directors of the Centre, professor Maria Lee and Professor Richard Macrory welcomed some 40 alumni from both the UK and a number of other European countries. They are to be found working in a great range of sectors – industry, government, private practitioners, and non-government organization, and former students Liz Hatton (DEFRA Legal) and Josh Roberts (ClientEarth) gave short talks about their current work.

Working in partnership with the Global Legislators Organisation, GLOBE International, UCL has published a major review of national laws and policies in 21 countries concerning natural capital accounting. The study featured contributions from 56 individuals, including parliamentarians, government officials, external consultants, and subject matter experts from UCL.

The study was officially launched on 7 June 2014 at the 2nd World Summit of Legislators, hosted by the Mexican Congress of the Union in Mexico City. More than 500 presidents, speakers and senior legislators from around the world attended the Summit. One of the study’s lead authors Dr Ben Milligan highlighted the study’s objectives and key conclusions in an address to the Summit’s plenary session.

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Jonathan Robinson, currently Director of resources and Legal Services at the Environment Agency, England and Wales, has been appointed a Visiting Professor to the Faculty.

 Jonathan was a senior lawyer at the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs, before taking up the position of Chief Legal Adviser to the Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand. He was subsequently appointed Chief Legal Adviser to the Department of Communities and Local Government before taking up his present position with the Environment Agency in 2009.

On learning of the appointment, Jonathan said, “I’m have always greatly enjoyed my discussions with the high calibre students and academic staff and researchers at UCL, and am delighted and hugely honoured to be made a Visiting Professor.  I look forward to working more closely with UCL over the coming years”

Richard Macrory, co-director for the Centre for Law and the Environment, commented, “We are all absolutely delighted at the prospect of closer collaboration with Jonathan – he is someone with  enormous experience of environmental law and the machinery of government, and his appojntment comes at a period in the development of thinking about  environmental regulation and environmental regulators.”

 Jonathan’s CV

On the 6th of March 2014, King’s College, in collaboration with UCL, organised a conference on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) (see our previous post for more details and a short summary of the event). The Conference Report, including the day’s programme and a list of delegates, is now available and can be downloaded from the following link: CCS Conference Report (KCL & UCL). For copies of speakers’ presentations and more information on events at King’s College in general, please click here.

On the 6th of March 2014, King’s College, in collaboration with UCL, organised a conference on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), held in Senate House (London).

With contributions from government, industry and academia, discussions were lively, informed,  and encouraged  a sense of urgency to get CCS on track. Speakers included the Government Chief Scientist, Sir Mark Walport, Dan Byles MP, Prof. Stuart Haszeldine of University of Edinburgh, Ward Goldthorpe (Crown Estate) , David Kennedy (Climate Change Committee) Ashley Ibbett (Department of Energy and Climate Change), Ian Havercroft (Global Carbon Capture Storage Institute) and many others. (more…)

City solicitors Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer hosted an informal evening in January for UCL LLM students taking environmental and energy options.  Over supper, around 35 students from all over the world heard from Senior Associate Vanessa Jakovich and two of her colleagues what it was actually like practicing environmental law in an international law firm, and the qualities needed to be effective.  This was followed by a talk from Richard Gordon QC, a leading London public law barrister, who considered the proper relationship between the unelected judiciary and an elected government, especially in the light of current tensions. Richard Macrory co-director of the Centre for Law and the Environment commented, “Freshfields have long been supportive of UCL’s environmental law activities, and we are delighted yet again for their generosity in making this such a worthwhile evening for our current students.”

In September 2013 the Ministry of Justice published proposals for further reforms to Judicial Review procedures.  These include the possible creation of a specialist Land and Planning Chamber within the Upper Tribunal to handle planning JRs, and more controversially ideas for restricting standing, and minimize ‘political’ JRs designed primarily to delay Government decision-maker.  Professor Macrory has made a personal submission to the Consultation Document.

Key points in Professor Macrory’s submission which focuses on environmental JRs are:

• The Consultation Paper focuses on planning JRs and acknowledges that many of its proposals cannot apply to Aarhus environmental JRs. Yet many planning JRs will inevitably engage Aarhus.
• Aarhus does not entitled people to bring frivolous or unwarranted claims but the the vision of Aarhus for economical and speedy access to review procedures requires a more radical rethink on how JRs have been traditionally handled.
• There is considerable merit in the proposal of the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) in handling planning JRs.  Environmental JRs should also be transferred, starting with those areas of environmental law where statutory appeals to the First Tier Environment Tribunal now lie.  The new Chamber should be called the Land, Planning and Environment Chamber.
• Third parties who had participated in environmental regulatory procedures should have a limited right of appeal to the First Tier Environmental Tribunal on the substantive or procedural legality of the decision in question. Providing an appeal in this way would be more consistent with Aarhus aspirations than JR actions and by channeling such challenges through the First Tier Tribunal would help dampen unrealistic and expensive JR claims.
• There is a limited discretion under Aarhus to define standing requirements under national rules for environmental NGOs but it is unlikely that doing so will meet concerns expressed in the Consultation Paper, and it is preferable to rely on judicial discretion.

UPDATE  FEBRUARY 2014

The Government responded to the consultation in February 2014 – Cm 8811

• The Government has decided not to set up  a new chamber in the Upper Tribunal for planning and environmental JRs. Instead it will create a new Planning Court within the High Court –  “The Government is satisfied that the Planning Court continuing to hear cases in the High Court will deliver the improvements it had been minded to seek through the creation of a Planning Chamber in the Upper Tribunal. The Planning Court should be up and running more quickly without introducing uncertainty around the development of new rules and case management procedure that a Planning Chamber in the Upper Tribunal would have required”.
• The Government has decided not to change existing rules on standing in planning and environment JRs – “The Government is clear that the current approach to judicial review allows for misuse, but is not of the view that amending standing is the best way to limit the potential for mischief. Rather, the Government’s view is that the better way to deliver its policy aim is through a strong package of financial reforms to limit the pursuit of weak claims and by reforming the way the court deals with judicial reviews based on procedural defects.”