Welcome to our March newsletter!

The Chancellor’s Maes Lecture a fortnight ago contained perhaps the strongest statement yet about the Government’s intent to align more widely with the EU, aiming that divergence and regulatory autonomy should be ‘the exception, not the norm’. Will this open the door to this summer’s Reset considering alignment on circular economy, chemicals and deforestation regulation – three areas where we have flagged it is in the UK’s economic interests to align (and environmentally beneficial too)? The question perhaps is whether it is in the EU’s interests to recognise this alignment. First the intentions from last year's Reset need to be confirmed, to which end the recent announcement covered below puts more flesh on the bones of the proposed agri-food/veterinary agreement, alongside the proposed ‘alignment bill’ to be announced in the coming King’s Speech, set for 13 May. If you have views and evidence on these matters, I’d encourage you to feed into Defra’s SPS consultation and the House of Lords inquiry into dynamic alignment.

For those who don’t make it to the bottom of this bumper newsletter, I want to flag a raft of events we have coming up next month. Firstly, our webinar on private investment for sustainable agriculture on 14 April, linked to a new report we will be publishing. The following week we will host a webinar on UK air quality standards, including perspectives from across the four nations and administrations – and scroll down to read more about our work looking at good practice on air quality standards across Europe being quoted in a recent Environmental Audit Committee inquiry hearing. I also want to flag the IEEP 50^th anniversary event in Brussels on 21 April, part of the celebrations over the year, and read on for the latest in our 50^th anniversary blog series, this focusing on IEEP’s work on agricultural policy over the decades.

Divergence Monitor

Insight: UK-EU alignment and divergence: climate and environment

"Leaving the European Union provided the opportunity for the UK to move away or ‘diverge’ from environmental rules largely set by the EU. For some, this opened the door to a ‘Singapore-on-Thames’ style business environment with much less red (or green) tape. Michael Gove, on the other hand, argued that there would be a ‘Green Brexit’. For better or worse, however, large-scale regulatory change driven by the UK in the area of environment and climate policy has not materialised."

First published by UK in a Changing Europe as part of its February 2026 report UK-EU alignment and divergence: the road ahead, this insight piece written by IEEP UK’s Head of Environmental Policy Michael Nicholson gives an overview of UK-EU alignment and divergence on environmental matters since the departure of the UK from the European Union.

News: UK Government announces update on UK-EU SPS agreement

In March, the UK Government announced an update on the proposed deal with the EU on agri-food trade, which is set to impact a wide range of food and farming standards including food safety, animal health and plant health. The update provides, for the first time, further detail on the rules set to be in scope of the UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, which is expected to come into force by mid-2027. The update provides a full list of EU legislation set to fall within the scope of the deal, including aims to align with the EU on the majority of them.

Other IEEP UK News

Guest Insight: Product design policy: a waste reduction lever currently missing in the debate?

“Momentum to reduce food loss and waste has never been stronger. But the upstream product design choices that determine how much waste is created in the first place remain almost entirely off the policy radar.”

In our latest guest insight piece, Noëlle Smits van Waesberghe from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation looks at how food upcycling – "a significant missed opportunity to tackle food waste" – can reframe food surplus and by-products not as waste to be managed, but as an opportunity to extend the value of the product through better design.

Insight: Is England's new Land Use Framework fit for the future?

"The Government’s Land Use Framework for England is not so much of an elegant new structure as a cupboard full of data, principles, specific policy objectives and processes, an initial set of maps (with many more to come), and guidance for the planning system. It sets forth a vision of a more coherent, efficient, diverse and rewarding set of land uses. The components are not revolutionary but together represent a significant step in policy terms. Many stakeholders have welcomed it as an advance in the right direction. This will be a relief to Defra ministers, who are aiming to create more of a consensus in an often combustible arena."

This insight piece, written by IEEP UK Honorary Fellow David Baldock, takes a look at the new Land Use Framework for England published by the UK Government last week, and examines whether it is fit for the future. 

Insight: 50 years of IEEP: Travelling the long road to greener European agricultural policies

To celebrate 50 years of the IEEP family, throughout 2026 we will retrace the organisation’s long history, highlight key moments in EU policymaking, and showcase our influence and impact on some of the most critical events, with the support of current and past friends, colleagues, and supporters. This insight piece, written by IEEP UK Honorary Fellow David Baldock and Associate Kaley Hart, takes a look at IEEP’s contributions to the development of agricultural policy in Europe and the UK.

News: IEEP UK research used in EAC inquiry on air quality

The Government’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) is currently undertaking an inquiry on air pollution in England. IEEP UK has contributed to the EAC’s call for evidence as well as advising some of its consultatory witnesses. This included Green Alliance's Ruth Chambers, who cited IEEP UK's analysis of France's Grenelle II law, Norway's 'Blue Green Factor' planning tool, and the EU's Social Climate Fund in response to a question on international lessons for the UK on air quality. 

News: Andy Jordan and Mercedes Sanchez Varela join IEEP UK board of trustees

IEEP UK welcomes Andy Jordan and Mercedes Sanchez Varela to its board of trustees. They both bring incredible experience to the help steer the organisation, which now has seven trustees.

Professor Andy Jordan is Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, and has over 30 years of experience in environment and climate change research and policy making. In March 2026, Professor Jordan was appointed to the UK Climate Change Committee.

Mercedes Sanchez Varela is an EU sustainability and climate policy adviser, with long exposure in translating policy challenges into future-proof sustainable strategies for the private and public sectors. Mercedes is also chair of trustees of the organisation’s sister body – IEEP – in Brussels, helping to ensure a close working relationship between the two organisations.

Window on Europe

Window on Europe: Divergence or cooperation - tackling deforestation from an EU and UK perspective

In our monthly series, Window on Europe, we shine a light on the best policy ideas coming from the rest of Europe, and look at the lessons for the United Kingdom. This month, IEEP's Nora Hiller and IEEP UK's Ed Worsdell and Clara Vullo take a look at the latest developments in the EU's Regulation on Deforestation-free Products, and what this means for the proposed UK Forest Risk Commodities legislation in the UK.

Events and Webinars

Taking place on the 21 April in Brussels, IEEP’s Think2030 Conference –celebrating IEEP's 50th anniversary – will reflect on fifty years of EU environmental policymaking while looking decisively to the future. Together with Think Sustainable Europe, the IEEP network of think tanks, and other partners, the conference will welcome decision-makers, environmental experts, industry and civil society.

A highlight will be the participation of Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, whose keynote speech and panel contribution will set the strategic frame for discussions on how Europe can align environmental ambition with economic transformation, social fairness and global responsibility.

The event will deliver policy insights and recommendations on the key environmental priorities of the Cyprus Presidency to promote EU leadership on sustainability, resilience and competitiveness. To register your interest in attending, please click below.

On 14 April 2026, from 14:00-15:30 UK time, IEEP UK will be hosting a webinar discussing the role that different models of private investment can play in supporting farmers to adopt and maintain sustainable farming practices. The event will also explore what policies and regulation are needed to drive this investment while preventing unintended consequences.

The webinar will set the scene on different types of private investment in sustainable farming across the UK and EU, as well as different government approaches, and discuss the extent to which his investment can drive sufficient change in farming practices. We’ll also cover the potential risks of different models and how to mitigate them, and consider what can be achieved through voluntary mechanisms.

For this event, chaired by David Baldock, Honorary Fellow at IEEP UK, we will be joined by Martin Lines, CEO of the Nature Friendly Farming Network; Isabella Wedl, Senior Associate, Nature & Food at IEEP; Jayne Wilkinson, Nature-based Solutions Project Manager at National Parks Partnerships; and Holly Tomlinson, Senior Policy Analyst for Farming and Land Use at IEEP UK. Further panellists will be announced in due course.

To sign up, follow this link or click the button below:

On 23 April, 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. This event has been postponed from its original date of 26 February.

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, chaired by Livi Elsmore, Senior Campaign Manager at the Healthy Air Coalition, we will be joined by Professor Paul Lewis, Chair of the Clean Air Advisory Panel of the Welsh Government and Clean Air Programme Regional Champion for Wales; Dr Neil Rowland, Senior Research Fellow at Queen’s Business School, Queen’s University Belfast and UKRI Regional Clean Air Champion for Northern Ireland; Chiara Antonelli, Lead for Economic and Social Dimensions of Climate Policy at IEEP; Gareth Brown, Healthy Air Coalition Lead for Scotland and Policy and Public Affairs Officer at Asthma + Lung UK; Matt Browning, Principal Policy and Programme Officer (Air Quality) at the Greater London Authority; 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...

• Shaping food security narratives: a strategic tool for climate action (RUAF)

• Low carbon public procurement for UK competitiveness (Aldersgate Group)

• EU's deforestation footprint highlights need for EUDR (Trase)

• "Big puff" vapes adding to the vape environmental crisis (Material Focus)