Author: Ben Reynolds (IEEP UK)
Having been in post for just over one year, now seems like a good time to reflect on where IEEP UK has come as an organisation in the last 12 months and a bit of a look forward. That and, well, I didn’t quite pull this together in time for the traditional end of year sum ups. The last few weeks, whilst being some of the busiest in my time here, have allowed some time for reflection. Not least as we pull together an annual report that flags our work over the year, including that on divergence of UK/EU policy, which received Guardian front page coverage; our report laying out how a future Government could take a Fresh Direction to its relationship with the rest of Europe, which was launched at a Parliamentary reception days before the election was announced; and other work including that which raises the ambition of UK scrutinising the gap between the UK Government’s current commitments and the policy required to meet them – in this case on nitrogen pollution.
Recently we’ve been running a recruitment exercise for a relatively junior post in the organisation which has received a staggering 160+ applications. These come from candidates relatively early in their career. I raise this, unusual as it is to be this open about the dark arts of recruitment, because the quality of the candidates speaks to the hope that we need in what will be a (another?) crucial year to secure the commitments to investment and ambitious policy, environmental improvements that we need to avert the worst scenarios of climate and nature devastation that are becoming increasingly possible. These are candidates with qualifications and knowledge far more advanced and specialised than when I entered a career in the sector over two decades ago. The potential of this generation coming through to understand the complex problems, their inter-relations and reach solutions more quickly than was possible previously is heartening, but to rely on this (and them) would be a dereliction of duty of those who hold the levers of power currently.
And so to the year ahead. This week sees us hold our Annual Conference – the first we’ve held for many years – marking another step in the solidification of the organisation’s re-establishment on the UK policy stage. With the event having a record number of sign-ups, it shows there is an appetite for our work and the angles we are exploring. And again this speaks to hope. In a climate where globally, if not domestically, it is easy to get overwhelmed by commitments falling short, and progress at best being slow, the appetite from the UK to rebuild its relationship with our European cousins gives hope that we can work more collaboratively – one area being in data sharing and we will hear from Leena Yla-Mononen, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency at the conference. And beyond this, the new spirit of cooperation will hopefully result in finding more common standards to align around whether on circular economy or chemicals, to lift many of those in the UK that have languished in recent years.
We are thrilled that the UK’s Minister for Nature Mary Creagh will be speaking, and we believe this will be the first public statement by the new(ish) Government on its relationship with the EU on environmental policy. Likewise, we will be listening carefully to Claudia Fusco, a Director at DG ENV for her perspective on the relationship with the UK on environmental policy. This could mark an important foundation on which to build cooperation and ambition on a much larger stage – and whilst I’m immediately referring to the political sphere the same applies to IEEP UK’s aims for the coming year. Our array of expert speakers from across Europe are brilliantly placed to lay out what this could look like on issues ranging from food security, circular economy, nature and flooding to the state of our rivers and seas – incidentally Defra’s five priorities, but issues that are priorities across the four nations, with so many areas of environmental policy now devolved. This next year will see us solidify our tracking of divergence (and alignment?) oof environmental policy across the EU, UK and four nations, take inspiration to drive greater ambition in UK policy in areas ranging from agriculture and land use policy to air quality, and to explore ways in which our governance structures can underpin a healthier environment for all.
I hope you can join us for the event and in our journey over the year ahead.
Book your place at IEEP UK’s Annual Conference – online – 22 January
Photo by Diana Parkhouse on Unsplash