Conference Week 2022
14-17 June - Programme - To view our presenters' biographies, please click on the links for each session
Tuesday 14 June
7.30am Yoga with LEMon Yoga. Join Laurie Elcoate-May at LEMon Yoga for a gentle session to start the day. All abilities very welcome.
Working Party sessions
12.30pm Waste: Much ado about plastic - UK waste exports and recycling
3.30pm Environmental Litigation: Tackling the Complex Issues of Wildlife Crime and Litigation: Innovative Solutions
5.30pm Noise: The Impact of Noise on Wildlife and Ecosystems
Wednesday 15 June
7.30am Yoga with LEMon Yoga. Join Laurie Elcoate-May at LEMon Yoga for a gentle session to start the day. All abilities very welcome.
Working Party sessions
2.15pm Meet the EDI members' forum
3.30pm Nature Conservation/Climate Change & Energy: Biodiversity Net Gain and Offsetting - Can we get a litre from a pint pot
5.30pm Wales: Coal Tip Safety in Wales
7.30pm – Film club followed by audience discussion: join us to watch Where Are the Warriors – a climate change film shot and edited in the UK in 2021. The panel includes the presenter Tasha Cresswell, director Justin Davey and Jojo Mehta, Stop Ecocide Foundation, major contributor from the film. The discussion will be led by Warren Percival, Vice Chair, UKELA and Director, RSK.
Thursday 16 June 2022
7.30am Yoga with LEMon Yoga. Join Laurie Elcoate-May at LEMon Yoga for a gentle session to start the day. All abilities very welcome.
8.45am Welcome from Conference Chair: Jamie Whittle, Partner, R&R Urquhart & UKELA trustee
8.50am Opening Address: Edwin Namakanga, Rise Up Movement, Ugandan climate justice activists
9am – 10.30am Plenary 1 – PROTECTING THE FRESH WATER ENVIRONMENT
Chair – Stephanie Hall, barrister, King’s Chambers
In our first plenary session of the Conference, our expert panellists will undertake a deep dive into the topic of water. Our Chair, Stephanie Hall and our speakers will navigate us through a diverse range of issues such as pollution, enforcement and prosecutions; open water swimming; development planning and managing flood risk. Our panel will seek to bridge the gaps in our audience's knowledge and whilst we cannot promise a comprehensive cruise from a-z of issues, we will certainly cover "h to o".
Speakers:
- John Leyland, Director, Environment Agency - regulator’s perspective
- Joanne Holbrook, Legal Director, Environment, Addleshaw Goddard – practitioner’s perspective
- Scott Lo, Planning & Environmental Lawyer, Canal & Rivers Trust - Water quality/pollution/use by public
- Emma Parkes, Head of Development & Building Control, Horsham District Council
10.30am BREAK
10.45am – 12.15pm Plenary 2 – GETTING TO NET ZERO: A LOOK AT THE UK’S STRATEGY AND SOLUTIONS
Join us for what is likely to be a lively debate over the UK’s strategy around the net zero carbon (NZC) agenda. The panel includes key figures across the legal, business and policy arenas discussing a broad set of questions such as the role of government and business in the race to net zero through to the avoidance of greenwashing, and identification of opportunities for the legal sector in further development of practices in this area, and making material changes to operations / advice to clients.
Chair: Becky Clissmann, Managing Director, The Chancery Lane Project
Speakers
- Tom Thackray, Director of Infrastructure and Energy Policy, CBI
- Wendy Miles QC, Barrister, Twenty Essex Chambers/Net Zero Lawyers Association
- Martin Baxter, Director of Policy & External Affairs, IEMA
12.15pm Speaker’s Corner 1: Malina Modlich, University of Edinburgh/SRUC: Re-defining the expert witness: valuing local and traditional environmental knowledge
12.30pm Keynote Address: Rt Hon the Lord Deben, Chair, Climate Change Committee
1pm LUNCH
1.30pm – 3pm Plenary 3 – FINANCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Will international communities follow the UK’s lead implementing the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, or are different paths being forged across the world which those advising multinational firms must be aware of? The panel will explore these issues by looking at the domestic legal framework, how that is being applied in practice, issues that arise, and whether best-practice lessons can be shared across the UK and the world. The audience will hear about international plans and the timelines involved. There may even be some discussion of the now-notorious presentation at the Financial Times’ Moral Money Summit by Stuart Kirk, HSBC’s Global Head of Responsible Investment…
Chair – Nina Pindham, barrister, No5 Chambers & UKELA trustee
Speakers:
- David Carlin, TCFD and Climate Risk Program Lead, UNEP
- Geraldine Ang, Senior Policy Analyst, Green Finance & Investment, OECD Centre on Green Finance and Investment
- Danielle King, Head of Climate Change Strategy and Decarbonisation, RSK
- Clare Burgess, Partner, Clifford Chance LLP
3.00pm- 3.30pm Case Law Update 1: CLIMATE CHANGE / ENERGY
Speakers:
- Merrow Golden, Francis Taylor Building (climate change)
- Katherine Barnes, 39 Essex Chambers (energy)
3.30pm BREAK
3.45pm – 5.15pm Plenary 4 – DIRECT ACTION, RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES
Discussion regarding the protest-related law, direct action on environmental issues and reforms to both Judicial Review and to the criminal and other sanctions which may be enforced at public protests. Alongside legal deliberations there will be contributions from the environmental community, to discuss the impact of these changes on a practical level. We raise the query, “What does the law say now and what legitimate options remain available for a concerned citizen to be able to meaningfully protest on environmental issues?”
Chair: Estelle Dehon QC, barrister, Cornerstone Barristers & UKELA trustee
Speakers:
- Celina Colquhoun, barrister, 39 Essex Chambers - JR reforms across the UK
- Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, barrister, Matrix Chambers - Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Act and recent protest-related case law
- Dave Timms, Friends of the Earth - Civil society and protest rights
5.15 BREAK
5.25pm AGM
5.45pm Close
Evening (7-9pm)– Join us in central London or Manchester for a Drinks and Canapes reception where we will hear the Special Address from Dr Jane Goodall DBE, Founder the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace. Meet the sponsors, network with other delegates. Tickets to the drinks at both venues can be booked by adding an option when you purchase your conference tickets, and must be purchased by Midday on Tuesday 14th June.
- London, Burges Salmon offices, 6 New Street Square, EC4A 3BF
- Manchester, Addleshaw Goddard’s offices, One St Peter’s Square, M2 3DE
Friday 17 June 2022
7.30am Yoga with LEMon Yoga. Join Laurie Elcoate-May at LEMon Yoga for a gentle session to start the day. All abilities very welcome.
8.45am Welcome Address: Rt Hon Lord Justice Lindblom, UKELA President
9am – 10.30am Plenary 5 – TACKLING THE NATURE EMERGENCY - A NATIONAL AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
Nature, wildlife and healthy ecosystems are essential to our lives as well as to the wellbeing of the planet. We are in a nature and climate emergency and it is widely acknowledged that one cannot be solved without the other. This plenary will consider how the nature emergency is being tackled at both the national and global levels. Our expert panel of speakers will consider the laws, policies, targets and consultations which are currently in place, discuss how we have ended up in this situation, and the anticipated direction of future nature protection and restoration. There is a lot going on with nature and habitats at the moment, so please join us to hear from experts at the forefront of the battle to keep nature and wildlife adequately protected and who are pushing for improvement and nature recovery through their work.
Chair: Pip Goodwin RSPB, NCWP co-convenor
Speakers:
- Richard Benwell, CEO, Wildlife & Countryside Link - UK Environment Act, species targets
- David Morris, CEO, Environmental Defenders Office, Australia
- Fiona Dobson, International Policy Officer, RSPB - international perspective
10.30am Special Address: Rosamund Adoo Kissi Debrah, The Ella Roberta Family Foundation
10.45am BREAK
11.00am Case Law Update 2: HABITATS / REGULATION
Speakers:
- Leon Glenister, Landmark Chambers (habitats)
- Natasha Hausdorff, 6 Pump Court (regulation)
11.30am – 11.45am – Speaker’s Corner 2: Sebastian Van Dack-Owens, BPP London and Andrew Lees Essay prize winner: Current Regulatory Approaches to Net Zero are ineffective in addressing the climate crisis.
11.45am – 12.10pm – Keynote Speaker: Nature Based Solutions – Jake Fiennes, Head of Conservation, Holkham Estate
12.10pm BREAK
12.20pm – 1.45pm Plenary 6 – GOVERNANCE AROUND ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE OBLIGATIONS
What does governance bring to the implementation of environmental and climate obligations? What does good governance look like, at a national and international level? Who does it apply to? In this plenary we will take a look at some of the ways in which scrutiny is applied to ensure that environmental and climate commitments are implemented. At a domestic level, we will focus on environmental governance in the UK and US. Then we will focus on international and domestic climate governance, particularly in the context of the commitments coming out of COP26 which involve many different actors playing a role. We’ve a fantastic line up of speakers and we will finish with a Q&A session with the panel.
Chair – Bridget Marshall, Interim Chief Officer Performance and Innovation, SEPA
Speakers:
- Ruth Chambers, Greener UK – UK environmental governance
- Michelle Diffenderfer, President, Lewis Longman Walker, Chair American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy & Resources – US environmental governance
- Rebecca Williams - Lecturer in Environmental Law at Edinburgh Napier University
1.45pm Farewell and thanks: Ned Westaway, UKELA Chair
2pm - CLOSE
3pm - Student WP - an informal opportunity for Student Members to meet Mateusz Slowik and the rest of the current UKELA student team to find out what they do and how to get involved.