Conference Week 2022

We are delighted to open bookings for the UKELA Annual Conference 2022. Join us for 4 days of insightful debate, discussion and CPD. The conference will run online, offering unrivalled access to all.

Join us in London or Manchester for a drinks reception on Thursday evening. Add this separate bookable item when making your booking.

 Friday 17 June 2022 Programme

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.