Recent months have seen a rise in decisions that push back against environmental progress, in both rhetoric and policy action. The OEP’s advice to the UK Government on the Planning & Infrastructure Bill argues that the proposed legislation would “have the effect of reducing the level of environmental protection provided for by existing environmental law”, effectively amounting to regression. Internationally, similar stories around the state of environmental policy are widespread.

To facilitate discussion, several contributors have supported the production of a provocation paper that discusses these issues in depth. The paper will be published this week.

This free online IES discussion event will consider issues around the state of environmental regression, the risks associated with anti-nature rhetoric, and increased challenges to the presumption that sustainable development is a force for good. Attendees will be given the option to voice their concerns and discuss an appropriate way forward for environmental professionals.

While primarily serving as a discussion space to connect members with different perspectives and shared concerns, this event will also give IES members and the wider sector a chance to feed in to the IES's policy work over the coming months. This is a non-political discussion and will not be a platform for engaging with or influencing politics.

Agenda

• 12.30-12.40: Introduction and provocation paper
• 12.40-12.55: Breakout groups: What challenges and threats are we facing?
• 12.55-13.00: Plenary discussion
• 13.00-13.20: Breakout groups: How should environmental professionals respond?
• 13.20-13.30: Plenary and next steps

“At its core, sustainability simply means the capacity to continue … we owe it to ourselves and on behalf of future generations to stand up to champion and defend this ideal and its underpinning scientific realities in the face of this contemporary ‘War of the Worlds’.” – Professor Mark Everard

Convening the discussion

As a membership organisation, we provide a convening space where members can share their views and engage in healthy debate. This discussion event follows from five opinion pieces published on the IES website, providing different perspectives in response to the changing political context that is affecting many IES members and environmental professionals worldwide. 

Read the opinion pieces:

• Mark Everard: War of the worlds: Championing sustainable development in contested times
• William Calendar: Sustainability is an existential concern, not a political debate
• Mark Everard: A War of Evidence
• Mary Davis: The false dichotomy of environment vs wealth
• Mark Everard: Constraints as opportunities

A full provocation paper will be made publicly available prior to the discussion.

The goal of the series of articles has been to stimulate thought and discussion amongst environmental professionals. This discussion will consolidate those conversations and provide an opportunity for members to share their perspectives, connect with other professionals, and identify possible ways forward.