Biodiversity Net Gain - the view from the inside of the legislative process and hopes for the future

Our guest on this episode of the Meliora podcast from the Sustainability & Resilience Institute at the University of Southampton is the impressive Emily Cole.  Emily was one of the lead architects of the recently launched Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) legislation, arguably one of the most ambitious and important sustainability legislative changes of recent times.Emily explains this new mandatory requirement for developers, lifts the lid on the policy development and consultation process from her time as one of the BNG leads at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and outlines her hopes for the future. We also hear about Emily's academic background, how she muscles her way into photos, her experiences in environmental consultancy and government, and her important PhD research which is building on her BNG and policy expertise.  We hope you enjoy this fascinating episode as it's rare to get this inside view, but also because Emily is a wonderful, naturally gifted communicator.About BNG: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/understanding-biodiversity-net-gainBNG in the news: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/12/england-brings-in-biodiversity-net-gain-rules-to-force-builders-to-compensate-for-loss-of-natureGuest: Emily Cole, PhD Candidate in the School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of SouthamptonHost: Professor Simon Kemp, Deputy Director of the Sustainability & Resilience Institute, University of SouthamptonEditor: Lily Killner, BSc Environmental Science student, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of SouthamptonEngage with us on Instagram / X : @meliorapodcast