Increasingly vocal demands for repatriation of power from both Brussels and Westminster have re-opened the debate about where decision-making powers on environmental issues should lie. This issue of the environmental SCIENTIST highlights several devolution success stories in environmental policy areas, and reflects on what we can learn from these cases. A series of three Analysis pieces offer a comparative exploration of how one important issue, climate change adaptation, is being addressed in each of the devolved administrations. We also present a perspective from the United States, and further analysis on what Brexit may mean for devolved environmental policy in the UK. The policy landscape is in flux and the environmental sector needs to embrace new approaches to help shape future frameworks. This journal aims to encourage the reflection required, by carefully evaluating the options available to us, examining congruent domestic and international experiences, and highlighting best practice.