diff --git a/build/environment.yml b/build/environment.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..276287783e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/environment.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+name: ci-env
+channels:
+  - conda-forge
+  - defaults
+dependencies:
+  - cartopy
+  - matplotlib
+  - netcdf4