Welcome to our first newsletter of 2026!

This year the Institute for European Environmental Policy, the family of which IEEP UK is part, turns 50 years old. Founded in Germany in 1976, we are looking forward to a year of activities and content with our sister organisation in Brussels, drawing on this rich history to inform the challenges the environment faces today.

But it’s not just challenges, as 2026 already has plenty of opportunities where UK environmental policy could make strides forward. Despite the threat (and in some cases reality) of diluted environmental regulations in the EU omnibuses, EU progress in recent years still acts as a beacon for many aspects of UK environmental policy to aspire to.

A big milestone to assess progress towards this will be the next UK-EU Reset summit in early summer. Next week, we will be joined by a great line up of speakers, including EFRA Committee Chair Alistair Carmichael MP, for a webinar assessing progress on the Reset and what this means for the environment. Following this webinar, we'll be hosting another on air quality later in February.

Finally, in this edition we are launching a regular series of articles providing a window into policy in other European nations, kicking off with Norway’s electric vehicle rollout.

Divergence Monitor

Report: Review of Divergence in Environmental Regulation in Northern Ireland Relating to Nutrient Management

Brexit introduced new complexities for environmental governance, especially in Northern Ireland, which shares a land border with the EU and remains partially aligned with EU law under the Windsor Framework. To better understand these challenges, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) commissioned a report examining how regulatory divergence could affect nutrient management and the protection of shared ecosystems. This study was delivered by IEEP UK together with Miller Research and Environmental Justice Network Ireland.

Other IEEP UK News

News: 50 years of IEEP

2026 marks the 50^th anniversary of the Institute for European Environmental Policy, the family of which IEEP UK is part. Founded in 1976 by Konrad Von Moltke, IEEP’s work has been instrumental in some of the founding environmental principles and laws in both the European Union and its member states, providing inspiration and leadership globally. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the UK, where IEEP set up offices in 1980 and remains active to this day.

Insight: Six opportunities for environmental policy in 2026

The IEEP family's 50th anniversary year is set to be a busy one for us, with myriad opportunities to improve the UK's environmental policy landscape. IEEP UK's Executive Director Ben Reynolds outlines six (and yes, there are many more) that are at the top of our list, including the circular economy, chemicals, air quality, water, food supply chains, and EEA membership.

Report: The UK and the European Environment Agency: Practical Considerations on Closer Cooperation

The UK was a founding member of the European Environment Agency (EEA) in 1993, but left the organisation in 2021 following Brexit. Despite membership of the EEA not being predicated on EU membership – and more than 25 years of intense cooperation – there is now little active and/or formal cooperation between technical environmental experts in the UK and their counterparts in the EEA and the European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet).

This paper explores the merits of the UK re-engaging with, or ultimately re-joining the EEA and Eionet, analysing the forms the forms of cooperation, costs involved and time taken by countries to negotiate an agreement with the EEA – using Switzerland and Turkey as relevant case studies.

News: IEEP UK helps to set Welsh Sustainable Land Management indicators and targets

In December 2025, Welsh Ministers selected their final indicators and targets for Sustainable Land Management (SLM) and laid them before the Senedd, where they were approved. These indicators and targets followed many of the recommendations and suggestions in the Welsh Government commissioned report by IEEP UK, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) and the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) delivered via the Environment and Rural Affairs Modelling and Monitoring Programme (ERAMMP).

Window on Europe

What could the UK learn from Norway, the world leader in electric vehicle rollout?

In this edition we're pleased to launch our new monthly series, Window on Europe. In these articles, we shine a light on the best policy ideas coming from the rest of continent, and look at the lessons for the United Kingdom.

In this first piece, Christopher Crompton takes a look at Norway’s bold and successful approach to EV rollout, from support for charging infrastructure to wide-ranging fiscal incentives.

IEEP UK Events and Webinars

On 5 February 2026, from 12:00-13:30 UK time, IEEP UK will be hosting a webinar on the state of the environmental commitments made as part of the UK-EU Reset.

For this webinar, we will be joined by Alastair Carmichael MP, Chair of the EFRA Committee; Emily Lydgate, Professor of Environmental Law, Co-Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory and Deputy Director of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy at the University of Sussex; David Baldock, Honorary Fellow at IEEP UK; and Josie Cohen, Head of Policy and Campaigns at PAN UK.

The session will be chaired by IEEP UK's Executive Director, Ben Reynolds.

You can find out more details and sign up to attend by following this link, or by clicking the button below:

On 26 February 2026, from 15:00-16:30 UK time, IEEP UK will be hosting a webinar on UK air quality standards and the potential for alignment with WHO guidelines. 

Brexit has afforded Britain legislative independence from the EU on air quality regulation, but as our recent IEEP UK report highlighted, we are subsequently falling behind Europe on key pollutants. However, the increasing role of devolved governments in defining air quality policy has already shown how the individual nations of the UK can take it upon themselves to lead the way.

For this event we will be joined by Professor Paul Lewis, Emeritus Professor at Swansea University Medical School and Chair of the Clean Air Advisory Panel of the Welsh Government; and Christopher Crompton, Senior Policy Analyst, Air Quality at IEEP UK.

Further panellists will be announced in due course.

You can find out more details and sign up to attend by following this link, or by clicking the button below:

What we've been reading this month...

• The Government's Water White Paper: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (River Action UK)

• Finally, we have a serious plan for warm, low carbon homes (Green Alliance)

• How to deliver a UK-EU "re-set" that works (UK Trade Policy Observatory)

• Progress in improving the natural environment in England 2024/2025 (Office for Environmental Protection)