In this month’s Planet Possible, Niki Roach is joined by Ruth Chambers OBE - a Senior Fellow at Green Alliance, and honorary professor of practice at the UCL Centre for law and the environment.

Ruth, and host Niki, metaphorically travel around the nations of the UK - identifying what will be making the headlines in UK environmental policy, in 2026.

1. In Wales, the Environmental Governance Bill will be a new legislation allowing future Welsh governments to set long-term environmental targets.
2. The Environment Minister of Northern Ireland, Andrew Muir, has outlined how environmental governance is currently operating, highlighting implementation.
3. The Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill - Introduces statutory environmental targets that politicians will be required to meet in the future.
4. The UK Government has added 13 new deliverables, expanding the scope and ambition of environmental action at UK-wide level.

Credits

Presented & Produced by Niki Roach

Executive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb Limited

With thanks to Alastair Chisholm

Honorary Executive Producer Jane Boland

Our last Minipod of 2025 welcomes John Curtin, the president of CIWEM. John joins Niki Roach in this 15 minute episode, to discuss the following 3 current stories in Water, Climate and Nature:

1. Infrastructure Risks - How should we approach building new infrastructure in a world shaped by climate change, and shifting environmental issues and politics? And how do we move beyond short-term fixes and improve our acceptance of the need to build for 2050 and beyond?
2. A piece of research, supported by the natural science foundation of China, shows a new technique that could let us generate electricity from water in an entirely new way. With the potential to scale, and real promise for countries with large water masses, such as the UK.
3. John Curtin explains the new CIWEM presidential theme of “Green Roots, Growing Prosperity” policy and why protecting the environment, and growing the economy, don’t have to be opposing forces despite how they’re often framed in politics and the media.

Credits

Presented & Produced by Niki Roach

Executive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb Limited

With thanks to Alastair Chisholm

Honorary Executive Producer Jane Boland

In this month’s Planet Possible, we’re going beyond the specifics of COP30 and reflect on the shifting geo politics of climate leadership, and what it could mean for our future generations.

Niki Roach is joined by two experts in this field - Dr Clare Richardson-Barlow, a Political Economist with a focus on the Asia specific region, and Professor of International Politics at the University of Leeds - Richard Beardsworth.

Together, they discuss:

1. COP30 - The climate change conference that has just taken place in Brazil, why it matters so much and the context in which it’s happening, as emissions continue to rise. How are the road maps going to be implemented, and where are the delivery on targets that have been set for the countries in attendance?
2. China - The world’s largest emitter and how its leadership responds to those emissions. The country is also the largest investor in renewables, and the largest manufacturer of clean technology.
3. The challenges around a just transition here in the UK, from fossil fuels, and the political recognition required regarding how difficult it will be to move towards a greener future.

Credits

Presented & Produced by Niki Roach

Executive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb Limited

With thanks to Alastair Chisholm

Honorary Executive Producer Jane Boland