One of the largest environmental challenges of the next decade will be implementing and delivering environmental policy.

That challenge is only made more intractable by the artificial barriers created in the policy space between government departments and different policy ‘silos’.

Where natural systems cause environmental issues to operate in different policy spaces, unintended consequences can easily arise. These may require a policy approach that recognises that these issues are not the purview of a single minister or department. Instead, they should be recognised as cross-departmental issues.

This primer on cross-departmental environmental policy sets out the challenges and opportunities associated with environmental policy across government departments, and includes a table of the responsibilities of departments in the UK and their environmental implications.