Since 2019, the British Academy has been producing a series of reports known as Policy Histories, each covering a different area of public policy in the UK. The aim of the series is to use historical insights and learning from history to inform policy-making.

This report aims to provide policy-makers with an opportunity to revisit, review and reflect on environmental policies over the years. The intention is that, in doing so, lessons can be learnt from the successes and failures of previous environmental policies. Learning from the past to develop effective policies for the future is increasingly urgent in the context of climate change and biodiversity loss.

This report provides a chronology and reflection on key environmental policy milestones in the UK from the 1960s until now. The chronology takes that period as a starting point as that is when issues on the environment started to form a unique policy stream. The report also offers four complementary commentary pieces exploring specific environmental policy themes and timeframes. Two of the papers provide a broader context for the chronology piece as they review ancient and 19th century history, whilst the other two discuss the 1960s onwards, reflecting on key moments in the chronology.

This report highlights several key lessons from history for policy-makers:

• The significance of culture and society in environmental policy-making
• The challenge of making environmental decisions that meet diverging stakeholder interests
• The importance of understanding the implications of short-term policies on long-term environmental protection
• The need for policies to be made holistically and collaboratively
• The crucial role civil society organisations can play in shaping policies