The 29th Conference of the Parties (“COP29”) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCC”) is set to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024.  This is the first in a series of posts BCLP’s environmental team will be writing, providing updates on the issues and discussions taking place at COP29, and the potential impact on your organisation.

The UK position on PFAS is developing post-Brexit via UK REACH and a regulatory management options analysis. The EU position on PFAS is developing via EU REACH (with several significant restriction processes underway). The US position on PFAS is developing via extensive and ongoing regulation in the US at both the state and federal levels.

The Supreme Court’s judgment in R(Finch) v Surrey County Council  [2024] UKSC 20 has potentially significant implications on how environmental impacts of major projects are assessed.  The question at the heart of the case was how far ‘downstream’ from a development project the decision-maker has to look when assessing its likely environmental effects.  The answer, according to a slim majority of the Supreme Court, is further than had previously been thought necessary.  However, it’s not panic stations for all EIA development.

As part of the ongoing Government reforms to the consenting process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (“NSIPs”), PINS has launched its 2024 Pre-Application Prospectus. The Prospectus sits alongside a suite of other newly-published Guidance, which we have discussed in previous Insights, providing updated guidance on the DCO pre-application stage and new guidance on the new Fast-track process. The Prospectus implements expected reforms to the NSIP application process and provides important detail which all promoters should familiarise themselves with. In this Insight we summarise the key changes, which includes a: new tiered Pre-application service and associated costs; new and increased documentation and procedural requirements; Fast-track procedure; and transitional arrangements for projects already in the system.

The recent High Court judgment in Armstrong v Secretary of State [2023] is a useful reminder of the scope of amendments that can be made to planning permissions under s.73 TCPA and that this power is not limited to the approval of ‘minor-material amendments’.

The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (“ESOS”) is a mandatory energy efficiency assessment and monitoring scheme in the UK. The qualification date for the third phase of ESOS (31 December 2022) has recently passed.  If your organisation meets the qualification thresholds on the qualification date, you must take a number of steps prior to the end of the assessment period on 5 December 2023.

PFAS has been on European regulatory radars for some time, but 2023 looks to be a significant year for the EU’s broad PFAS restriction proposal. In January, five EU member states submitted the proposal to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) under REACH (the EU’s chemicals regulation) and, in February, ECHA published the proposal. There’s no doubt that the task faced by ECHA and interested parties / consultees will be sizeable as this proposal moves through the restriction process.